2% increased risk of death for patients with kidney disease who take statins

This study was published in the Lancet 2011 Jun 25;377(9784):2181-92

 

Study title and authors:

The effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with simvastatin plus ezetimibe in patients with chronic kidney disease (Study of Heart and Renal Protection): a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Baigent C, Landray MJ, Reith C, Emberson J, Wheeler DC, Tomson C, Wanner C, Krane V, Cass A,

Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21663949/

This study investigated the effect of a daily dose of simvastatin 20 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg in patients with chronic kidney disease. This randomised double-blind trial included 9,270 patients with chronic kidney disease (3,023 on dialysis and 6,247 not) with no known history of myocardial infarction or coronary revascularisation. The trial lasted for 4.9 years and 4,650 patients were assigned to receive simvastatin plus ezetimibe and 4,620 to placebo.

The study found that patients who received simvastatin plus ezetimibe had a 2% increased risk of death compared to the patients who received placebo.