High-Intensity Statin Therapy Is "Too Much," Thus Not Indicated for Very Elderly Patients

Purpose: Although moderate- to high-intensity statin therapy is increasingly recommended in cardiovascular disease patients, the efficacy and safety in elderly patients have not been proven clearly. Here, we compare the effect of various-intensity statins between elderly and very elderly patients.

Methods: 43,870 patients over 65 years old who were treated with statins were screened using electronic medical record data.

Results: We evaluated 451 patients in the elderly group aged 65-74 years and 159 patients in the very elderly group over 75 years old. Baseline cholesterol profiles were similar between the 2 groups, but the 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk was significantly higher in the very elderly (20.9 ± 11.5$ vs. 37.2 ± 13.6$, p < 0.001). The reduction rate of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (-40.2 ± 21.3$ vs. -39.3 ± 21.0$, p = 0.634) and the ratio of target LDL attainment (74.2 vs. 79.2$, p = 0.252) were similar between the 2 groups. Low-intensity statins showed comparable LDL cholesterol reduction with moderate-intensity statins both in the elderly and the very elderly groups. The 10-year ASCVD risk reduction was similar between the 2 groups (-3.5 ± 4.9$ vs. -3.0 ± 8.4$, p = 0.480), but in the very elderly group, no different ASCVD reduction rate was shown in low- to high-intensity statins (p = 0.784). Only the elderly group showed a significant correlation (r = 0.112, p = 0.017) with LDL reduction and 10-year ASCVD risk. Interestingly, the incidence of adverse drug reaction (ADR) was higher in the very elderly group (4.4$) than in the elderly group (2.7$) and was more frequent in high-intensity statin therapy.

Conclusion: The efficacy of statins in LDL reduction was similar between the elderly and very elderly population. However, the benefit of moderate- to high-intensity statins is limited considering potential ADR. Therefore, the stepwise intensification of statin therapy might be necessary for the very elderly in spite of the higher cardiovascular risk.