Statin drugs are highly effective at reducing cholesterol levels. They have also been shown to help prevent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients who are at high risk for this condition. It's thought that statins' anti-inflammatory properties help stabilize plaques in the coronary arteries that can rupture and cause ACS.
For several years, reports have been accumulating to suggest that patients who are taking statins for the prevention or treatment of cardiac conditions may have less risk of acquiring serious infections, and less risk of dying should serious infections occur. That evidence now seems to be solidifying.
In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed nine studies that looked at treating infections with statins and concluded that patients taking statins had a significantly reduced risk of acquiring serious infections, such as pneumonia and sepsis (bacteria in the bloodstream), and also of dying from such infections.
Other studies have suggested that patients taking statins are less likely to acquire influenza and are less likely to die from influenza if they do get it. In one study, CDC researchers reviewed data from 2,800 patients admitted to the hospital with confirmed cases of severe influenza, and found that patients who were taking statins died at half the rate of patients not taking statins.
Researchers theorize that the same anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects that make statins useful in preventing ACS may also make them effective in preventing and treating serious infections.
Researchers caution that the ability of statins to help prevent and treat infections is not yet proven. The association between statins and a reduced risk of serious infections comes only from observational studies, and not from randomized clinical trials. It will take several randomized clinical trials (and large ones at that) to confirm this benefit.
What This May Mean To You
Doctors are not currently prescribing statins solely because of their presumed benefit in preventing and treating influenza and other infections - and it will be several years, if ever, before the FDA would approve the use of statins in this way.But if your doctor has recommended that you take statins to reduce your cardiovascular risk, and you are on the fence about it, then the possibility that statins could help prevent and reduce the severity of serious infections - including the flu - might be something to take into account as you make your decision.
Sources:
Fedsona DS, Pandemic Influenza: A Potential Role for Statins in Treatment and Prophylaxis. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2006;43:199-205.
Tleyjeh IM, Kashour T, Hakim FA, et al. Statins for the prevention and treatment of infections. Arch Intern Med 2009; 169:1658-1667.
McKenna, M. Statins may help patients with severe seasonal flu. Center For Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP). http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/oct2909idsa2.html Accessed November 1, 2009).
