Study says statin benefits greater than expected, but what of cost?

The beneficial effects of statins on cardiovascular mortality in secondary prevention have been established in several long-term  placebo-controlled trials, but the value of these cholesterol-lowerering  therapies in the reduction of overall mortality in patients without  coronary heart disease is still questionable.

However, the results of an analysis of observational data, published in  the Archives of Internal Medicine, has revealed that better continuity  of statin treatment provided an ongoing reduction in mortality among  patients with and without a known history of CHD. The observed benefits  from statins were greater than expected from randomized clinical  trials, said the authors, whose study included 229,918 adult enrolees  in a health maintenance organization in Israel, who initiated statin  treatment from 1998 through 2006. Continuity of statins conferred at  least a 45% reduction in the risk of death

As a result of these findings, Roger Boyle, the UK's director for heart  disease, has said that England/Wales medicines rationing watchdog, the  National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), will now  review whether more patients should be receiving this type of therapy.