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Association of Statin Therapy and Risks of Cholelithiasis, Biliary Tract Diseases, and Gallbladder Procedures:

Donald Martin1, Robert Schmidt2, Eric M Mortensen2

  • 1University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.

The Annals of Pharmacotherapy
|December 27, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Statin use did not significantly alter the risk of gallstones or gallbladder disease. This study found no increased or decreased incidence of cholelithiasis or related procedures in statin users compared to nonusers.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular pharmacology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Gallstone disease is a significant cause of morbidity and economic burden.
  • Statins reduce cholesterol synthesis, potentially lowering the risk of cholesterol gallstones.
  • Limited population-based evidence exists regarding statins and gallbladder disease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the association between statin use and the risk of gallbladder diseases.
  • To compare the incidence of cholelithiasis, biliary tract diseases, and gallbladder procedures in statin users versus nonusers.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study utilizing data from the San Antonio Tricare health system (October 2003 - March 2012).
  • Patients were categorized into statin users (≥90 days use) and nonusers (no prior statin use).
  • Propensity score matching (82 variables) was employed for a 1:1 comparison of 6342 matched pairs.

Main Results:

  • The study included 43,438 patients; 13,626 were statin users.
  • Matched analysis showed similar odds ratios for statin users versus nonusers for cholelithiasis (OR=0.86), biliary tract disease (OR=0.85), and gallbladder procedures (OR=0.85).
  • Confidence intervals for all outcomes included 1.0, indicating no statistically significant difference.

Conclusions:

  • Statin therapy was not found to be significantly associated with an increased or decreased risk of cholelithiasis.
  • No significant association was observed between statin use and the overall risk of gallbladder disease or related procedures.
Abstract

Keywords:
cholelithiasischolesterolstatins

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