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Published on: April 17, 2021
COVID-19 outcomes in patients taking cardioprotective medications
Fritha J Morrison1, Maxwell Su2,3, Alexander Turchin1,4
1Division of Endocrinology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Insights
Cardioprotective medications like metformin, RAASi, and statins did not consistently reduce COVID-19 risks. Aspirin was linked to higher hospitalization rates, highlighting the need for further research into affordable treatments.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology
Background:
- COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant mortality globally.
- Cardiovascular risk factors increase COVID-19 adverse outcomes.
- Cardiometabolic medications may offer protective effects against COVID-19.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if aspirin, metformin, RAASi, and statins reduce adverse COVID-19 outcomes.
- To compare outcomes in patients taking these medications versus historical users.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of 13,585 COVID-19 patients (March 2020-March 2021).
- Compared outcomes (hospitalization, ICU, intubation, death) between current and past medication users.
- Utilized multivariable analysis to adjust for demographics and comorbidities.
Main Results:
- Metformin, RAASi, and statins showed lower hospitalization, ICU admission, and death risks in bivariate analysis.
- Multivariable analysis revealed only a statistically significant lower risk of death for these medications.
- Aspirin use was associated with a significantly higher risk of hospitalization.
Conclusions:
- Cardioprotective medications showed no consistent benefit for COVID-19 outcomes.
- Further research is needed to identify affordable, widely available medications for reducing COVID-19 risks.
- This is crucial as vaccination and treatments are not universally accessible.
Introduction:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a worldwide pandemic and has led to over five million deaths. Many cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. obesity or diabetes) are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in COVID-19. On the other hand, it has been suggested that medications used to treat cardiometabolic conditions may have protective effects for patients with COVID-19.
Objectives:
To determine whether patients taking four classes of cardioprotective medications-aspirin, metformin, renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi) and statins-have a lower risk of adverse outcomes of COVID-19.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of primary care patients at a large integrated healthcare delivery system who had a positive COVID-19 test between March 2020 and March 2021. We compared outcomes of patients who were taking one of the study medications at the time of the COVID-19 test to patients who took a medication from the same class in the past (to minimize bias by indication). The following outcomes were compared: a) hospitalization; b) ICU admission; c) intubation; and d) death. Multivariable analysis was used to adjust for patient demographics and comorbidities.
Results:
Among 13,585 study patients, 1,970 (14.5%) were hospitalized; 763 (5.6%) were admitted to an ICU; 373 (2.8%) were intubated and 720 (5.3%) died. In bivariate analyses, patients taking metformin, RAASi and statins had lower risk of hospitalization, ICU admission and death. However, in multivariable analysis, only the lower risk of death remained statistically significant. Patients taking aspirin had a significantly higher risk of hospitalization in both bivariate and multivariable analyses.
Conclusions:
Cardioprotective medications were not associated with a consistent benefit in COVID-19. As vaccination and effective treatments are not yet universally accessible worldwide, research should continue to determine whether affordable and widely available medications could be utilized to decrease the risks of this disease.
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