Mortality associated with stopping statins in the oldest-old - with and without ischemic heart disease

The association between stopping statins and 1-year mortality in the general population of the oldest-old - with or without ischemic heart disease (IHD) - has been studied herein for the first time. This was a retrospective study. Included were all consecutive patients (n = 369) aged 80 years or more (mean age 87.8 years) hospitalized in a single Geriatrics department during 1 year. The study group included 140 patients in whom statins were stopped upon admission (statin stoppers). The control group included 229 patients who did not use statins in the first place (statin non-users). All-cause 1-year mortality rates were studied in both groups following propensity score matching and in IHD patients separately. Overall, 110 (29.8%) patients died during the year following admission: 38 (27.1%) statin stoppers and 72 (31.4%) statin non-users (P = .498). Cox regression analysis showed no association between stopping statins and 1-year mortality in the crude analysis (hazard ratio [HR] 0.976, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.651-1.463, P = .907) and following propensity score matching (HR 1.067, 95%CI 0.674-1.689, P = .782). Among 108 IHD patients, 38 (35.2%) patients died during the year following admission: 18 (27.7%) statin stoppers and 20 (46.5%) statin non-users (P = .059). Cox regression analysis showed a nearly significant association between stopping statins (rather than not using statins) in IHD patients and lower 1-year mortality (HR 0.524, 95%CI 0.259-1.060, P = .072). Hence, stopping statins in the general population of the oldest-old - with or without IHD - is possibly safe. Future studies including the oldest-old statin continuers are warranted to confirm this observation.

Automated summary

The study investigated the association between stopping statins and 1-year mortality in the general population of the oldest-old, revealing that stopping statins may be safe in this age group. However, in patients with ischemic heart disease, stopping statins appeared to be associated with lower 1-year mortality rates, although this association was not statistically significant. Further research is needed to verify these findings, particularly in older adults who continue to use statins.