Statins tied to lower risk of new depressive symptoms in older adults
Statin users had a relative risk of 0.80 compared with nonusers among older adults initially free of depression.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of 17,231 older adults initially without depression, against statin nonusers
- What changed:
- New depressive symptoms were less likely among statin users than nonusers (relative risk 0.80)
- The catch:
- Underlying health differences between statin users and nonusers could explain the association
- In the record:
- The 716th paper on statins with results in people; 1,830 on record in all.
- Why it’s aging research:
- It studies an intervention with evidence of extending healthy life.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Adults aged 70 or older, or 65 or older for US minorities, were followed for a median of 8.4 years in an observational study. Using data from an aspirin trial and its extended follow-up, researchers analyzed 17,231 participants without depression at the start and 3,478 with existing depression. They used a protocol designed to emulate a trial and statistical weighting to account for differences between statin users and nonusers.
Statin use was linked to a lower risk of depressive symptoms in those initially without depression. Associations strengthened with higher genetic susceptibility to depression and longer use. There was no clear association overall in those with existing depression, although an association favoring statin use appeared in those with higher genetic susceptibility. The analysis found no evidence of long-term liver safety concerns.
Why it matters
Late-life depression can respond poorly to antidepressants. These findings raise the question of whether statins might have a role in preventing depressive symptoms in older adults.
Caveats
Statin use was not randomly assigned; underlying health differences between users and nonusers may have contributed to the associations despite statistical adjustment. The findings do not cover younger adults.
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