Cholesterol-reducing drugs tied to lower hospital death rates for flu
It is common knowledge that people who buy Canadian Lipitor or other statins can help support their heart health by controlling their cholesterol levels.
It is common knowledge that people who buy Canadian Lipitor or other statins can help support their heart health by controlling their cholesterol levels. However, a new study from the Oregon Public Health Division in Portland suggests that such drugs may help reduce the mortality rate among patients hospitalized for the flu.
A team of researchers conducted an observational study in which they reviewed the medical data of more than 3,000 patients who were hospitalized for the flu between 2007 and 2008. The information was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infections Program and entailed 10 states.
Records showed that about a third of these subjects took statins either before or during their hospital stint. After adjusting for several factors, the researchers concluded that patients who didn't take statins were almost two times more likely to die than those who did, as published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
"Our study found that statins were associated with a decrease in odds of dying among cases hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza, when adjusted for age, race, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, renal disease, influenza vaccine receipt, and initiation of antivirals within 48 hours of admission," the team wrote.
Randomized controlled trials are needed to determine why statins have this effect, the influence of different doses and which specific drugs are more effective, the researchers said.
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