Mortality and Associated Morbidities Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Older Medicare Statin Users.
Bilal Khokhar, Linda Simoni-Wastila, Julia F Slejko and 3 others
PMID 29385012WHAT IT FOUND
Statin use after traumatic brain injury was linked to lower mortality and lower risk of stroke, depression, and ADRD in older Medicare patients.
This is association, not proof that statins cause benefit.
Key findings
01The final analysis included 100,515 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who survived TBI hospitalization.
02Post-TBI statin use of any kind was associated with lower mortality after discharge, with the greatest difference in 30-day mortality.
03Any post-TBI statin use was associated with lower risk of stroke, depression, and ADRD, and atorvastatin and simvastatin were associated with lower risk of all associated morbidity outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study used Medicare claims data, so it could not confirm why people died or whether statin use directly caused the observed differences. Statin users were more likely to have cardiovascular disease and hyperlipidemia, and the analysis could not fully rule out that healthier patients were more likely to use statins. Some patients may have stopped statins near end of life, which could make non-use look worse. Medications given during hospitalization or over-the-counter drugs were not captured. Depression and ADRD could have been present but undiagnosed before TBI. The sample was older Medicare beneficiaries who survived hospitalization, so results may not apply to younger patients or those who died before discharge.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that statins prevent death or disability after TBI. This was an observational Medicare claims study, not a trial, and statin users may have differed from non-users in health status or care.