WASHINGTON — The use of statins was associated with a 33% reduction in the risk of emergency department visits and hospitalizations among adult asthma patients in a retrospective study of more than 6,500 patients.
Statin use in the previous 12 months was independently associated with a significant 33% relative risk reduction for recurrent asthma-related ED/hospitalization events over 12 months.
The findings were based on a model that adjusted for factors such as age, gender, ED/hospitalization events in the prior 12 months, and asthma therapy in the prior 12 months, Eric Stanek, Pharm.D., reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Dr. Stanek of Medco Health Solutions Inc. and his colleagues used data from the Medco National Integrated Database, which includes more than 12 million individuals. Adult patients were included if they had received index inhaled corticosteroid therapy between January 2006 and December 2006, and if they had at least one ED/hospital visit for asthma in the 12 months before the index steroid prescription.
The study included 6,574 patients, of whom 2,103 had received concomitant statin therapy. The statin group was older, more likely to be male, and less likely to have had at least two asthma ED/hospitalization events in the previous 12 months. The most commonly prescribed statin was atorvastatin (42%), followed by simvastatin (25%).
In a univariate analysis, incidence of ED/hospitalization events was 29.4% in statin-unexposed patients and 20.5% in statin-exposed patients (odds ratio 0.62). The odds ratio was 0.67 in a multivariate analysis.
Statins are thought to exert anti-inflammatory effects that may have a positive impact on asthma. The findings support the hypothesis that “statins may improve clinical outcomes in adults with asthma,” Dr. Stanek said.
Dr. Stanek reported that he has no relevant financial conflicts of interest, but noted that his employer, Medco Health Solutions Inc., has contracts with several pharmaceutical companies.