PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A strong potential exists for greater promotion of statin therapy among the over-70 age group on the basis of their high absolute cardiovascular risk. However, the evidence for this approach is currently unclear. RECENT FINDINGS: Meta-analysis of trials highlights the uncertainty about the efficacy of statins in the prevention of major vascular events and all-cause mortality in the elderly. This stems from inadequate numbers of participants from this age group included in previous randomized clinical trials. Adverse effects of statins are likely to be greater in the elderly, but their frequency is uncertain and their contribution to frailty and loss of independence in the elderly has been little studied. SUMMARY: Real world trials examining the impact of statin therapy in the elderly are now called for.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A strong potential exists for greater promotion of statin therapy among the over-70 age group on the basis of their high absolute cardiovascular risk. However, the evidence for this approach is currently unclear. RECENT FINDINGS: Meta-analysis of trials highlights the uncertainty about the efficacy of statins in the prevention of major vascular events and all-cause mortality in the elderly. This stems from inadequate numbers of participants from this age group included in previous randomized clinical trials. Adverse effects of statins are likely to be greater in the elderly, but their frequency is uncertain and their contribution to frailty and loss of independence in the elderly has been little studied. SUMMARY: Real world trials examining the impact of statin therapy in the elderly are now called for.
Authors: Alberto Pilotto; Pietro Gallina; Francesco Panza; Massimiliano Copetti; Alberto Cella; Alfonso Cruz-Jentoft; Julia Daragjati; Luigi Ferrucci; Stefania Maggi; Francesco Mattace-Raso; Marc Paccalin; Maria Cristina Polidori; Eva Topinkova; Gianluca Trifirò; Anna-Karin Welmer; Timo Strandberg; Niccolò Marchionni Journal: Am J Cardiol Date: 2016-08-30 Impact factor: 2.778
Authors: Richard Ofori-Asenso; Ella Zomer; Andrea Curtis; Andrew Tonkin; Mark Nelson; Manoj Gambhir; Danny Liew; Sophia Zoungas Journal: JMIR Res Protoc Date: 2017-03-07