Prevention and treatment of dementia or Alzheimer's disease by statins: A meta-analysis

Background/ Aim: 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors ( statins) are thought to reduce the amount of Abeta peptides by reducing cholesterol from blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid. We performed this metaanalysis to evaluate the preventive and treatment effects of statins on dementia and Alzheimer disease onset. Methods: Relevant studies were systematically identified, and data were abstracted according to predefined criteria. We used a fixed-effects model and a random-effects model to compute pooled relative risks and to assess statistical heterogeneity. Results: The pooled crude odds ratios in statin users as compared with nonusers were 0.67 (95% confidence interval CI 0.54-0.82) in the dementia group and 0.81 ( 95% CI 0.64-1.02) in the Alzheimer group. The pooled adjusted relative risks calculated by random-effects model were 0.77 ( 95% CI 0.45 - 1.30) in the dementia group and 0.81 ( 95% CI 0.56 - 1.16) in the Alzheimer group. Conclusions: Statin use did not show a beneficial effect on the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Further study and independent confirmation of the association between statin use and dementia and Alzheimer's disease in larger clinical trials are warranted. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel