Journal
AGE AND AGEING
Volume 39, Issue 6, Pages 674-680Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afq129
Keywords
cholesterol; aged; 80+-year olds; lipid-lowering treatment and all-cause mortality; elderly
Categories
Funding
- VELUX foundation
- US National Institute on Aging [NIA-P01-AG08761]
- Savvaerksejer Jeppe Juhl og Hustru Ovita Juhls Mindelegat
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People aged 80 or older are the fastest growing population in high-income countries. One of the most common causes of death among the elderly is the cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lipid-lowering treatment is common, e.g. one-third of 75-84-year-old Swedes are treated with statins [ 3]. The assumption that hypercholesterolaemia is a risk factor at the highest ages seems to be based on extrapolation from younger adults. A review of observational studies shows a trend where all-cause mortality was highest when total cholesterol (TC) was lowest ('a reverse J-shaped' association between TC and all-cause mortality). Low TC (< 5.5 mmol/l) is associated with the highest mortality rate in 80+-year olds. No clear optimal level of TC was identified. A review of the few randomised controlled trials including 80+-year olds did not provide evidence of an effect of lipid-lowering treatment on total mortality in 80+-year-old people. There is not sufficient data to recommend anything regarding initiation or continuation of lipid-lowering treatment for the population aged 80+, with known CVD, and it is even possible that statins may increase all-cause mortality in this group of elderly individuals without CVD.
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