People who take statins ’12 per cent’ less likely to die from Covid, research suggests

PEOPLE who take statins could be 12 per cent less likely to die from coronavirus, new research suggests.

Statins are prescribed for lowering cholesterol in the blood and are a recommended and common intervention.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet followed 963,876 residents of Stockholm over the age of 45 between March and November 2020.

During that time, 2,545 individuals died from Covid - including 765 (0.5 per cent) of the statin users and 1,780 (0.2 per cent) of the non-users.

And after accounting for factors that would make those people more at risk of Covid, those who took the pills were still less likely to die.

The results were based on analyses of data on the participants' prescribed medication and healthcare and from the Cause of Death Register.

Rita Bergqvist, the study’s co-author and a medical student at the Karolinska Institute, said: “Our results suggest that statin treatment can have a moderate prophylactic effect on Covid-19 mortality.”

Co-first author Viktor Ahlqvist, doctoral student at the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, added: "All in all, our findings support the continued use of statins for conditions such as cardiovascular disease and high levels of blood lipids in line with current recommendations during the Covid-19 pandemic."

But the researchers say randomised studies will be needed to determine whether there is a causal relationship.

Commenting on the research, British experts said statins may work by reducing inflammation in the blood vessels.