Statins, antihypertensive drugs protective against severe COVID-19 outcomes

Patients on statin medication prior to being hospitalized for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have lower odds of death, a recent study has found. Such an effect is particularly stronger among those with a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or hypertension.

Drawing from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry, researchers retrieved the data of 10,541 hospitalized patients, looking at their demographics, medical background, medications, and outcomes. The primary study endpoint was in-hospital all-cause death or discharge to hospice care.

Majority (71 percent) of the patients had either CVD, hypertension, or both, of whom 85 percent were taking statins or antihypertensives. In the remaining participants who had no CVD/hypertension background, use of statins or antihypertensives was reported in 19 percent.

Unadjusted analyses found that participants who died were significantly more likely to have been on statin or antihypertensive medications. However, after propensity-score matching, the direction of correlation was reversed.

Among those with a history of CVD/hypertension, use of statins and/or antihypertensives reduced the risk of death by at least 30 percent (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.68, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.58–0.81) and of severe outcome by 20 percent (aOR, 0.80, 95 percent CI, 0.69–0.93).

In the subgroup of patients without such a medical history, medication with statin and/or antihypertensives cut the risk of death by 16 percent (aOR, 0.84, 95 percent CI, 0.58–1.22) and of severe outcomes by 8 percent (aOR, 0.92, 95 percent CI, 0.71–1.20). Though substantial, the effects of medication failed to reach significance in this subgroup.

“The benefit in patients without these underlying conditions appears to be less pronounced,” the researchers said. “Randomized, controlled trials are underway to further elucidate the role that statins may have in the treatment of COVID-19.”