New research suggests that statins may be useful when treating infection-related influenza and pneumonia.
In a matched cohort study (76,232 subjects) and two separate case-control studies (397 influenza deaths and 207 COPD deaths), researchers from New Mexico evaluated mortality risk and survival times using health-care encounter data.
Researchers found that influenza and pneumonia death odds ratios were significantly less in moderate-dose statin users in the cohort study. These findings were successfully confirmed with the case-control studies, as well. This study appears in the April issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.