Journal
LANCET
Volume 380, Issue 9841, Pages 581-590Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60367-5
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Funding
- British Heart Foundation
- UK Medical Research Council
- Cancer Research UK
- European Community Biomed Programme
- Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
- National Heart Foundation, Australia
- British Heart Foundation [PG/08/063/25397]
- BHF Centre of Research Excellence, Oxford, UK [RE/08/04]
- MRC [G0701113, MC_U137686849] Funding Source: UKRI
- Medical Research Council [MC_U137686849, G0701113] Funding Source: researchfish
- National Institute for Health Research [NF-SI-0509-10206] Funding Source: researchfish
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Background Statins reduce LDL cholesterol and prevent vascular events, but their net effects in people at low risk of vascular events remain uncertain. Methods This meta-analysis included individual participant data from 22 trials of statin versus control (n=134 537; mean LDL cholesterol difference 1.08 mmol/L; median follow-up 4.8 years) and five trials of more versus less statin (n=39 612; difference 0.51 mmol/L; 5.1 years). Major vascular events were major coronary events (ie,non-fatal myocardial infarction or coronary death), strokes, or coronary revascularisations. Participants were separated into five categories of baseline 5-year major vascular event risk on control therapy (no statin or low-intensity statin) (<5%, >= 5% to <10%, >= 10% to <20%, >= 20% to <30%, >= 30%); in each, the rate ratio (RR) per 1.0 mmol/L LDL cholesterol reduction was estimated. Findings Reduction of LDL cholesterol with a statin reduced the risk of major vascular events (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.77-0.81, per 1.0 mmol/L reduction), largely irrespective of age, sex, baseline LDL cholesterol or previous vascular disease, and of vascular and all-cause mortality. The proportional reduction in major vascular events was at least as big in the two lowest risk categories as in the higher risk categories (RR per 1.0 mmol/L reduction from lowest to highest risk: 0.62 [99% CI 0.47-0.81], 0.69 [99% CI 0.60-0.79], 0.79 [99% CI 0.74-0.85], 0.81 [99% CI 0.77-0.86], and 0.79 [99% CI 0.74-0.84]; trend p=0.04), which reflected significant reductions in these two lowest risk categories in major coronary events (RR 0.57, 99% CI 0.36-0.89, p=0.0012, and 0.61, 99% CI 0.50-0.74, p<0.0001) and in coronary revascularisations (RR 0.52, 99% CI 0.35-0.75, and 0.63, 99% CI 0.51-0.79; both p<0.0001). For stroke, the reduction in risk in participants with 5-year risk of major vascular events lower than 10% (RR per 1.0 mmol/L LDL cholesterol reduction 0.76, 99% CI 0.61-0.95, p=0.0012) was also similar to that seen in higher risk categories (trend p=0.3). In participants without a history of vascular disease, statins reduced the risks of vascular (RR per 1.0 mmol/L LDL cholesterol reduction 0.85, 95% CI 0.77-0.95) and all-cause mortality (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.97), and the proportional reductions were similar by baseline risk. There was no evidence that reduction of LDL cholesterol with a statin increased cancer incidence (RR per 1.0 mmol/L LDL cholesterol reduction 1.00, 95% CI 0.96-1.04), cancer mortality (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.93-1.06), or other non-vascular mortality. Interpretation In individuals with 5-year risk of major vascular events lower than 10%, each 1 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol produced an absolute reduction in major vascular events of about 11 per 1000 over 5 years. This benefit greatly exceeds any known hazards of statin therapy. Under present guidelines, such individuals would not typically be regarded as suitable for LDL-lowering statin therapy. The present report suggests, therefore, that these guidelines might need to be reconsidered.
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