Statins do not appear to decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, as several studies have suggested, reported Peter P. Zandi, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and his associates.
At least six observational studies have suggested an inverse association between statin use and dementia, but three randomized trials have found no such protective effect. To shed light on the issue, Dr. Zandi and his associates analyzed data from a study of nearly 5,000 elderly subjects living in Cache County, Utah.
Initial analyses of the investigators' data suggested that statin use lowered the risk of dementia. But that link disappeared in further analyses that adjusted for covariates, particularly subject age and sex.
The investigators concluded that the purported protective effect of statins that was found in cross-sectional studies is an artifact of the study design and simply is not borne out by further prospective analyses (Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 2005;62:217–24).
Mary Ann Moon