Association of lipid-lowering drugs with COVID-19 outcomes from a Mendelian randomization study

eLife digest The virus SARS-CoV-2 has caused millions of infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as of December 2021, no new drugs targeted to SARS-CoV-2 specifically exist. Thus, it is important to identify existing drugs that can reduce the infection and mortality of this virus, since repurposing old drugs is faster and cheaper than developing new ones. Fats, such as cholesterol, can play an important role in viral infections, meaning that drugs intended to lower the levels of fats in the blood could have a protective effect against SARS-CoV-2. To test this hypothesis, Huang, Xiao, et al. carried out a Mendelian randomization study to investigate if there is a link between drugs that lower fats and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including susceptibility, hospitalization, and severe disease. This approach consists on grouping people according to their version of a particular gene, which minimizes the effect of variables that can cause spurious associations, something known as confounding bias. Thus, Mendelian randomization studies allow scientists to disentangle cause and effect. Using this method, Huang, Xiao, et al. found an association between statins (a type of drug that decreases the levels of bad cholesterol) and a reduced risk of being hospitalized after being infected with SARS-CoV-2. These findings suggest that statins could benefit patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, and indicate that they should be prioritized in future clinical trials for treating COVID-19. Background: Lipid metabolism plays an important role in viral infections. We aimed to assess the causal effect of lipid-lowering drugs (HMGCR inhibitiors, PCSK9 inhibitiors, and NPC1L1 inhibitior) on COVID-19 outcomes using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study. Methods: We used two kinds of genetic instruments to proxy the exposure of lipid-lowering drugs, including expression quantitative trait loci of drugs target genes, and genetic variants within or nearby drugs target genes associated with low-density lipoprotein (LDL cholesterol from genome-wide association study). Summary-data-based MR (SMR) and inverse-variance-weighted MR (IVW-MR) were used to calculate the effect estimates. Results: SMR analysis found that a higher expression of HMGCR was associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization (odds ratio [OR] = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-1.81). Similarly, IVW-MR analysis observed a positive association between HMGCR-mediated LDL cholesterol and COVID-19 hospitalization (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.00-1.74). No consistent evidence from both analyses was found for other associations. Conclusions: This two-sample MR study suggested a potential causal relationship between HMGCR inhibition and the reduced risk of COVID-19 hospitalization. Funding: Start-up Fund for high-level talents of Fujian Medical University.

Automated summary

The study suggested a potential causal relationship between lipid-lowering drugs, especially statins, and a reduced risk of COVID-19 hospitalization. This indicates that they should be prioritized in future clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.