Research has shown that the salutary effect of statins on cholesterol may not be their only benefit.
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Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Statins
Like cholesterol, inflammation of the coronary arteries is one of the several factors that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.C-reactive protein(CRP) is a key marker for this harmful inflammation, and statin use helps lower CRP levels.
A 2022 meta-analysis of randomized control trial research on statins showed that statins can reduce CRP levels in people with different types of heart disease.
Based on findings from well-designed randomized control trials, statin therapy is recommended to treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in people with HIV.
Antiviral and Antibacterial Effects
With the advent of COVID-19, much research has been done to determine, what if any, effects statins have on fighting that virus. The research has been quite mixed. On the one hand, observational and correlational studies have shown improvement in COVID symptoms and exhibit antiviral activity.
However, research from Johns Hopkins and others has not found any effect of statins on either the reduction of COVID-19 mortality or the severity of symptoms.
The research on whether statins can fight infections is also mostly correlational. For example, some research found that patients taking statins while being treated for pneumonia had an improved survival rate after being admitted to a hospital. However, there is no evidence that statins directly affect pneumonia.
The research on treating sepsis with statins is mixed as well. Many studies have been unable to remove confounding factors and RCTs can be expensive. However, a promising 2024 study using Mendelian randomization that can study causal effects found that overall statins inhibit proinflammatory factors and may be used to prevent and treat sepsis.
Statins Can Lower Blood Pressure
Research on the effect of statins on hypertension has shown that they do lower blood pressure.However, the effect does vary between studies.
One 2023 study of 404 patients with hypertension found that after three months, blood pressure control was significantly greater for those treated with statins than for those not treated.
Statins Likely Do Not Lessen Atrial Fibrillation After Heart Surgery
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular heartbeat that commonly occurs after heart surgery. This can lead to longer hospital stays or even strokes or heart failure. Although some studies have shown that statins prevent AF, recent reviews of rigorous, randomized clinical trials have not refuted this claim.According to a 2024 Cochrane systematic review, no evidence was found that statin use before elective cardiac surgery made any real difference in preventing atrial fibrillation or stroke.
As with other medical issues, the research on whether statins can inhibit the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia is unclear. Most of the studies are observational, which cannot prove that statins have an effect. As one 2024 review indicates, “well-designed RCT trials are needed to test whether statins protect against or contribute to cognitive decline.”
Are Statins Right For You?
If you have high cholesterol, your healthcare provider may prescribe you a statin drug. Still, statins may not be appropriate for everyone, so talk with a practitioner about whether or not they are suitable in your case, why, and what your other treatment options might be.
Statins and Erectile Dysfunction: What’s the Connection?
16 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Rosuvastatin.MedlinePlus.AtorvastatinKhatiwada N, Hong Z.Potential benefits and risks associated with the use of statins.Pharmaceutics. 2024;16(2):214. doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics16020214Kandelouei T, Abbasifard M, Imani D, et al.Effect of statins on serum level of hs-CRP and CRP in patients with cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Mediators Inflamm. 2022;2022:8732360. Published 2022 Jan 28. doi:10.1155/2022/8732360Mehraj V, Chen J, Routy JP.Effects of statins beyond lipid-lowering agents in ART-treated HIV infection.Front Immunol. 2024;15:1339338. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1339338Daniels LB, Sitapati AM, Zhang J, et al.Relation of statin use prior to admission to severity and recovery among COVID-19 inpatients.Am J Cardiol. 2020;136:149-155. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2020.09.012Sood N, Shukla D, Mishra P, et al.Impact of in-hospital statin use on mortality in COVID-19 patients from a majority African American population.Heart Lung. 2024;64:137-141. doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2023.03.005Ren Y, Wang G, Han D.Statins in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.J Med Virol. 2023;95(6):e28823. doi:10.1002/jmv.28823Ayeh SK, Abbey EJ, Khalifa BAA, et al.Statins use and COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalized patients.PLoS One. 2021;16(9):e0256899. Published 2021 Sep 10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256899Grudzinska FS, Dosanjh DP, Parekh D, et al.Statin therapy in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.Clin Med (Lond). 2017;17(5):403-407. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.17-5-403Zhang K, Liu W, Liang H.Effect of statins on sepsis and inflammatory factors: A Mendelian randomization study.Eur J Clin Invest. 2024;54(5):e14164. doi:10.1111/eci.14164Khan Z, Gul A, Mlawa G, et al.Statins as anti-hypertensive therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Cureus. 2024;16(4):e57825. doi:10.7759/cureus.57825Abebe RB, Kebede SA, Birarra MK.The association of lipid-lowering therapy and blood pressure control among outpatients with hypertension at the Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023;10:1071338. doi:10.3389/fcvm.2023.1071338Providencia R.Preoperative statins in cardiac surgery: a tale of small study bias or ‘the truth, and nothing but the truth’.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):ED000167. doi:10.1002/14651858.ED000167Marques Antunes M, Nunes-Ferreira A, Duarte GS, et al.Preoperative statin therapy for adults undergoing cardiac surgery.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):CD008493. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008493.pub5Kazibwe R, Rikhi R, Mirzai S, Ashburn NP, Schaich CL, Shapiro M.Do statins affect cognitive health? A narrative review and critical analysis of the evidence.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2024;27(1):2. doi:10.1007/s11883-024-01255-x
16 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Rosuvastatin.MedlinePlus.AtorvastatinKhatiwada N, Hong Z.Potential benefits and risks associated with the use of statins.Pharmaceutics. 2024;16(2):214. doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics16020214Kandelouei T, Abbasifard M, Imani D, et al.Effect of statins on serum level of hs-CRP and CRP in patients with cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Mediators Inflamm. 2022;2022:8732360. Published 2022 Jan 28. doi:10.1155/2022/8732360Mehraj V, Chen J, Routy JP.Effects of statins beyond lipid-lowering agents in ART-treated HIV infection.Front Immunol. 2024;15:1339338. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1339338Daniels LB, Sitapati AM, Zhang J, et al.Relation of statin use prior to admission to severity and recovery among COVID-19 inpatients.Am J Cardiol. 2020;136:149-155. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2020.09.012Sood N, Shukla D, Mishra P, et al.Impact of in-hospital statin use on mortality in COVID-19 patients from a majority African American population.Heart Lung. 2024;64:137-141. doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2023.03.005Ren Y, Wang G, Han D.Statins in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.J Med Virol. 2023;95(6):e28823. doi:10.1002/jmv.28823Ayeh SK, Abbey EJ, Khalifa BAA, et al.Statins use and COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalized patients.PLoS One. 2021;16(9):e0256899. Published 2021 Sep 10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256899Grudzinska FS, Dosanjh DP, Parekh D, et al.Statin therapy in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.Clin Med (Lond). 2017;17(5):403-407. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.17-5-403Zhang K, Liu W, Liang H.Effect of statins on sepsis and inflammatory factors: A Mendelian randomization study.Eur J Clin Invest. 2024;54(5):e14164. doi:10.1111/eci.14164Khan Z, Gul A, Mlawa G, et al.Statins as anti-hypertensive therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Cureus. 2024;16(4):e57825. doi:10.7759/cureus.57825Abebe RB, Kebede SA, Birarra MK.The association of lipid-lowering therapy and blood pressure control among outpatients with hypertension at the Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023;10:1071338. doi:10.3389/fcvm.2023.1071338Providencia R.Preoperative statins in cardiac surgery: a tale of small study bias or ‘the truth, and nothing but the truth’.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):ED000167. doi:10.1002/14651858.ED000167Marques Antunes M, Nunes-Ferreira A, Duarte GS, et al.Preoperative statin therapy for adults undergoing cardiac surgery.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):CD008493. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008493.pub5Kazibwe R, Rikhi R, Mirzai S, Ashburn NP, Schaich CL, Shapiro M.Do statins affect cognitive health? A narrative review and critical analysis of the evidence.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2024;27(1):2. doi:10.1007/s11883-024-01255-x
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
MedlinePlus.Rosuvastatin.MedlinePlus.AtorvastatinKhatiwada N, Hong Z.Potential benefits and risks associated with the use of statins.Pharmaceutics. 2024;16(2):214. doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics16020214Kandelouei T, Abbasifard M, Imani D, et al.Effect of statins on serum level of hs-CRP and CRP in patients with cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Mediators Inflamm. 2022;2022:8732360. Published 2022 Jan 28. doi:10.1155/2022/8732360Mehraj V, Chen J, Routy JP.Effects of statins beyond lipid-lowering agents in ART-treated HIV infection.Front Immunol. 2024;15:1339338. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1339338Daniels LB, Sitapati AM, Zhang J, et al.Relation of statin use prior to admission to severity and recovery among COVID-19 inpatients.Am J Cardiol. 2020;136:149-155. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2020.09.012Sood N, Shukla D, Mishra P, et al.Impact of in-hospital statin use on mortality in COVID-19 patients from a majority African American population.Heart Lung. 2024;64:137-141. doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2023.03.005Ren Y, Wang G, Han D.Statins in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.J Med Virol. 2023;95(6):e28823. doi:10.1002/jmv.28823Ayeh SK, Abbey EJ, Khalifa BAA, et al.Statins use and COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalized patients.PLoS One. 2021;16(9):e0256899. Published 2021 Sep 10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256899Grudzinska FS, Dosanjh DP, Parekh D, et al.Statin therapy in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.Clin Med (Lond). 2017;17(5):403-407. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.17-5-403Zhang K, Liu W, Liang H.Effect of statins on sepsis and inflammatory factors: A Mendelian randomization study.Eur J Clin Invest. 2024;54(5):e14164. doi:10.1111/eci.14164Khan Z, Gul A, Mlawa G, et al.Statins as anti-hypertensive therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Cureus. 2024;16(4):e57825. doi:10.7759/cureus.57825Abebe RB, Kebede SA, Birarra MK.The association of lipid-lowering therapy and blood pressure control among outpatients with hypertension at the Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023;10:1071338. doi:10.3389/fcvm.2023.1071338Providencia R.Preoperative statins in cardiac surgery: a tale of small study bias or ‘the truth, and nothing but the truth’.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):ED000167. doi:10.1002/14651858.ED000167Marques Antunes M, Nunes-Ferreira A, Duarte GS, et al.Preoperative statin therapy for adults undergoing cardiac surgery.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):CD008493. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008493.pub5Kazibwe R, Rikhi R, Mirzai S, Ashburn NP, Schaich CL, Shapiro M.Do statins affect cognitive health? A narrative review and critical analysis of the evidence.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2024;27(1):2. doi:10.1007/s11883-024-01255-x
MedlinePlus.Rosuvastatin.
MedlinePlus.Atorvastatin
Khatiwada N, Hong Z.Potential benefits and risks associated with the use of statins.Pharmaceutics. 2024;16(2):214. doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics16020214
Kandelouei T, Abbasifard M, Imani D, et al.Effect of statins on serum level of hs-CRP and CRP in patients with cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Mediators Inflamm. 2022;2022:8732360. Published 2022 Jan 28. doi:10.1155/2022/8732360
Mehraj V, Chen J, Routy JP.Effects of statins beyond lipid-lowering agents in ART-treated HIV infection.Front Immunol. 2024;15:1339338. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1339338
Daniels LB, Sitapati AM, Zhang J, et al.Relation of statin use prior to admission to severity and recovery among COVID-19 inpatients.Am J Cardiol. 2020;136:149-155. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2020.09.012
Sood N, Shukla D, Mishra P, et al.Impact of in-hospital statin use on mortality in COVID-19 patients from a majority African American population.Heart Lung. 2024;64:137-141. doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2023.03.005
Ren Y, Wang G, Han D.Statins in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.J Med Virol. 2023;95(6):e28823. doi:10.1002/jmv.28823
Ayeh SK, Abbey EJ, Khalifa BAA, et al.Statins use and COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalized patients.PLoS One. 2021;16(9):e0256899. Published 2021 Sep 10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256899
Grudzinska FS, Dosanjh DP, Parekh D, et al.Statin therapy in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.Clin Med (Lond). 2017;17(5):403-407. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.17-5-403
Zhang K, Liu W, Liang H.Effect of statins on sepsis and inflammatory factors: A Mendelian randomization study.Eur J Clin Invest. 2024;54(5):e14164. doi:10.1111/eci.14164
Khan Z, Gul A, Mlawa G, et al.Statins as anti-hypertensive therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Cureus. 2024;16(4):e57825. doi:10.7759/cureus.57825
Abebe RB, Kebede SA, Birarra MK.The association of lipid-lowering therapy and blood pressure control among outpatients with hypertension at the Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023;10:1071338. doi:10.3389/fcvm.2023.1071338
Providencia R.Preoperative statins in cardiac surgery: a tale of small study bias or ‘the truth, and nothing but the truth’.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):ED000167. doi:10.1002/14651858.ED000167
Marques Antunes M, Nunes-Ferreira A, Duarte GS, et al.Preoperative statin therapy for adults undergoing cardiac surgery.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;7(7):CD008493. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008493.pub5
Kazibwe R, Rikhi R, Mirzai S, Ashburn NP, Schaich CL, Shapiro M.Do statins affect cognitive health? A narrative review and critical analysis of the evidence.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2024;27(1):2. doi:10.1007/s11883-024-01255-x
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