Adherence with statins and all-cause mortality in days with high temperature

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Environmental Health
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Statins are widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs.
• Emerging evidence suggests statins may offer protection against heat-related mortality.
• The impact of statin adherence on mortality during extreme heat requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between statin adherence and all-cause mortality on hot days.
• To determine if statin use confers a thermo-protective effect.

Main Methods:

• A historical new-user cohort study of 229,918 individuals in Israel (1998-2006).
• Statin adherence measured by proportion of days covered (PDC).
• All-cause mortality during hot days (≥39°C) was the primary outcome.

Main Results:

• A 10% increase in statin PDC was associated with reduced mortality risk on extremely hot days (HR 0.85; 0.72-1.00).
• This effect was more pronounced in men (HR 0.66; 0.45-0.95) compared to women (HR 0.98; 0.78-1.23).
• No significant association was observed on cooler days.

Conclusions:

• Statin adherence may be linked to decreased mortality during extreme heat events.
• The thermo-protective effect of statins appears more significant in males.
• Findings support the role of statins in mitigating heat-related health risks.