Common drugs used to lower cholesterol levels may reduce the severity of COVID-19

In a new study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, researchers have confirmed that patients taking statin drugs have a 41% lower risk of in-hospital death from COVID -19. The results were published on July 15, 2021 in PLOS ONE and build on previous research conducted at UC San Diego Health in 2020.

Statins are commonly used to lower blood cholesterol levels by blocking liver enzymes responsible for making cholesterol. They’re widely prescribed: The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 93 percent of patients who use a cholesterol-lowering drug use a statin.

“Faced with this virus at the start of the pandemic, there was a lot of speculation about certain drugs that affect the body’s ACE2 receptor, including statins, and whether they can influence the risk of COVID-19,” Lori said. Daniels, MD, lead study author, professor, and director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at UC San Diego Health.

“At the time, we believed that statins could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection through their known anti-inflammatory effects and binding abilities, which could potentially stop the progression of the virus. “

Using data from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry, the UC San Diego research team applied their original findings to a much larger cohort: more than 10,000 COVID patients -19 hospitalized across the United States.

Specifically, the researchers analyzed the anonymized medical records of 10,541 patients admitted for COVID-19 over a nine-month period, from January to September 2020, at 104 different hospitals.

“From this data, we performed more advanced analyzes as we attempted to control for coexisting medical conditions, socioeconomic status, and hospital factors,” Daniels said. “In doing so, we confirmed our previous findings that statins are associated with a reduced risk of death from COVID-19 in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. “

Daniels said it appears most of the benefits are found in patients with good medical reasons for taking statins, such as a history of cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure. According to the research team, the use of statins or an anti-hypertension drug has been associated with a 32% lower risk of death in COVID-19 hospital patients with a history of cardiovascular disease or hypertension.

In the study, statistical matching techniques were used to compare the outcomes of patients who used statins or an anti-hypertension drug with similar patients who did not.

“We matched each patient with one or more similar patients, using hospital site, month of admission, age, race, ethnicity, gender, and a list of pre-existing conditions, in order to to make the two groups as comparable as possible, ”said Karen Messer, Ph.D., study co-author and professor of biostatistics at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

The ACE2 receptor, the regulatory target of statins, helps control blood pressure. In 2020, it was discovered that the SARS-CoV-2 virus mainly uses the same receptor to enter lung cells.

According to researchers, statins and anti-hypertension drugs stabilize the underlying illnesses for which they are prescribed, making patients more likely to recover from COVID-19.

As with any observational study, we cannot say for sure that the associations we describe between statin use and reduced severity of COVID-19 infection are certainly due to the statins themselves; however, we can now say with very strong evidence that they can play a role in substantially reducing a patient’s risk of dying from COVID-19, ”Daniels said.“ We hope the results of our research will inspire patients to continue their treatment. “

The original study included 170 anonymized medical records of patients receiving care at UC San Diego Health. Researchers found that using statins before admission to hospital for COVID-19 resulted in a more than 50% reduction in the risk of developing a serious infection.

The American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry contains anonymized health data on patients treated for COVID-19 at more than 140 participating hospitals across the country. By July 2021, data from more than 49,000 patient records had been integrated into the platform.