Statins reduce mortality rate of patients suffering with Covid-19, study shows
Statins, when used to treat the novel coronavirus, are associated with a lower death rate and a lower rate of medical ventilation, according to a study published in Cell Metabolism.
Statins, used primarily to lower cholesterol, are known to slow the progression of lung injury in animals, improve immune response and reduce inflammation. These three symptoms are common in Covid-19 patients who suffer acute problems, often resulting in fatal organ damage.
The study, conducted in Hubei province, China, examined the use of statins in a sample size of 13,981 patients. It revealed a 45 per cent decrease in the mortality rate of those assigned the medication.
Furthermore, the study does not demonstrate that using statins in combination with blood-pressure lowering drugs causes an increase in mortality risk.
Hongliang Li, an author of the study and researcher at Wuhan University, said: “These results support the safety and potential benefits of statin therapy in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 and provide a rationale for prospective studies to determine whether statins confer protection against Covid-19-associated mortality.”
While the study does not definitively prove a reduction in deaths, it does provide hope for a potential treatment.
Li said: “Although this data does provide supportive evidence for the safety of statins...further randomized controlled trials to prospectively explore the efficacy of statins on Covid-19 outcomes appear justified.”
No vaccine or new therapy have been developed for combatting the novel coronavirus, but statins and the drug remdisiver, developed by pharmaceutical company Gilead, have both shown positive signs.
Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed medications in the UK with more than 7 million people taking them every year.
Since the pandemic began, the Sars-Cov-2 virus has infected more than 9.6m people worldwide, and has claimed over 490,000 lives.
However, experts have urged caution, citing the fact that the study failed to account for other factors, such as socio-economic status.
Professor Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: “This study is of some interest but it is far from proving statins lower risk of Covid-19 related mortality. The issue is that many potential confounding factors, perhaps in particular socioeconomic status, were not accounted for and could account for the findings rather than being on or off statin therapy."
