Effect of statins on the prevention of recurrent thrombosis in thrombotic antiphospholipid syndrome

To assess the effect of statins on the prevention of recurrent thrombosis in patients with thrombotic APS.

This retrospective cohort study included 184 patients with thrombotic APS. The effect of statins on recurrent thrombosis was investigated in the total study population and in an inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW)-adjusted population. Multivariable and IPTW-adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed on the total study population and the IPTW-adjusted population, respectively, to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for recurrent thrombosis, according to the use of statins.

Of the 184 patients, 103 (56.0%) received statins, while the other 81 (44.0%) did not. Recurrent thrombosis occurred in 22 (12.0%) patients during the mean observation period of 48.5 (34.9) months. In the multivariable Cox regression analyses, the use of statins was associated with a lower risk of recurrent thrombosis: (i) model 1 adjusted for risk factors of arterial and venous thrombosis, HR 0.24, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.63, P = 0.004; (ii) model 2 adjusted for the use of anticoagulants, antiplatelets and HCQ, HR 0.28, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.76, P = 0.012; and (iii) model 3 adjusted for the antiphospholipid autoantibody profile, HR 0.26, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.67, P = 0.005. The IPTW-adjusted Cox regression analysis also showed a lower risk of recurrent thrombosis with the use of statins (HR 0.28, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.65, P = 0.003).

Our data suggest that statins could be effective in reducing the risk of recurrent thrombosis in patients with thrombotic APS.