Protection from covid

Statins reduce COVID-19 mortality by a quarter

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

Observations have shown that statins prevent one in four deaths in hospitals filled with elderly coronavirus patients. Statins have the greatest effect on seriously ill patients, therefore, as doctors note, it is extremely important not to stop taking them against the background of coronavirus infection.

Article by Masana et al. The effect of statin therapy on SARS-CoV-2 infection-related mortality in hospitalized patients is published in the European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy – VM.

Statins are prescribed to lower cholesterol levels in the blood. It is estimated that every fourth person in the world takes these drugs. Taking into account the results of previous studies that statins reduce the risk of mortality from COVID-19, scientists from Spain decided to conduct a randomized study where additional statin intake (according to indications for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases) was compared with standard therapy.

The team evaluated data from 2,159 people with an average age of 67 from 19 hospitals in Catalonia between March and May 2020. In each group, the patients were comparable by gender, age and previous medical history.

Taking statins reduced the risk of mortality by 22%, and if therapy continued after hospitalization, the rates reached 25%.

"The results show that statins significantly reduce mortality from COVID-19 and refusal to take these drugs in the presence of coronavirus infection should not be prescribed," the authors of the work commented.

During the pandemic, some doctors or patients independently decided to give up statins, believing that the drugs could worsen the condition with COVID-19. The results show that drug withdrawal, on the contrary, may increase the likelihood of more severe complications. The authors emphasize that "the fear of a pandemic should never be used to suspend treatment."

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