Cardiac surgery patients on statins have a 10% increased risk of delirium

This study was published in the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia 2010 Aug;24(4):555-9

Study title and authors:
Modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors for postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Burkhart CS, Dell-Kuster S, Gamberini M, Moeckli A, Grapow M, Filipovic M, Seeberger MD, Monsch AU, Strebel SP, Steiner LA.
Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland. cburkhart@uhbs.ch

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20227891

Postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery is associated with increased death rates.

The study sought to identify risk factors associated with the development of postoperative delirium in elderly patients after elective cardiac surgery. The study included 113 patients aged 65 or older undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Regarding statins, the study found that patients taking statins had a 10% increased risk of delirium compared to patients not taking statins.

Soy associated with an increased risk of asthma

This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003 Sep;78(3):414-21

Study title and authors:
Food and nutrient intakes and asthma risk in young adults.

Woods RK, Walters EH, Raven JM, Wolfe R, Ireland PD, Thien FC, Abramson MJ.
Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Central and Eastern Clinical School, Monash University, and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12936923

The goal of the study was to determine whether the food and nutrient intakes of adults with asthma differ from those of adults without asthma. In the study the dietary habits of 1,601 young adults (average age 34.6 years) were analysed.

The study found:
(a) Consumption of soy beverage was associated with an increased risk of asthma.
(b) Consumption of butter, red meat, total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol were associated with a lower risk of asthma. 

Statins increase the death rate by 53% in intensive care unit patients

This study was published in Intensive Care Medicine 2006 Jan;32(1):160-4

Study title and authors:
Statin therapy prior to ICU admission: protection against infection or a severity marker?

Fernandez R, De Pedro VJ, Artigas A.
Critical Care Center, Hospital de Sabadell, Institut Universitari Parc Tauli, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Parc Taulí s/n, 08208 Sabadell, Spain. rfernandez@cspt.es

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16086178

This study examined the impact of statin therapy on hospital death rates in patients at a high risk of acquiring infections while in an intensive care unit. Data was analysed from 438 patients at high risk of intensive care unit acquired infections, i.e., those receiving mechanical ventilation for more than 96 hours.

The study found that patients who were taking statins had a 53% increased risk of death in hospital compared to patients not on statins.

Margarine consumption by mothers increases the risk of asthma by 96% in their children

This study was published in Acta Paediatrica 2012 Aug;101(8):e337-43

 

Study title and authors:

Maternal dietary fat and fatty acid intake during lactation and the risk of asthma in the offspring.

Lumia M, Luukkainen P, Kaila M, Tapanainen H, Takkinen HM, Prasad M, Niinistö S, Nwaru BI, Kenward MG, Ilonen J, Simell O, Knip M, Veijola R, Virtanen SM.

Nutrition Unit, Department of Lifestyle and Participation, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. mirka.lumia@thl.fi

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22578184

This study set out to explore the association between maternal dietary fat intake during lactation, and the risk of asthma in the offspring by the age of five years. The subjects in the study comprised of 1,798 mother-child pairs.

The study found that, by the age of five, children whose mothers consumed margarine during lactation had a 96% increased risk of asthma compared to children whose mothers did not consume margarine.

Statins increase the risk of death by 45% in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 2013 Oct 9

 

Study title and authors:

Effect of Statin Therapy on Mortality in Patients With Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Papazian L, Roch A, Charles PE, Penot-Ragon C, Perrin G, Roulier P, Goutorbe P, Lefrant JY, Wiramus S, Jung B, Perbet S, Hernu R, Nau A, Baldesi O, Allardet-Servent J, Baumstarck K, Jouve E, Moussa M, Hraiech S, Guervilly C, Forel JM

Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Hôpital Nord, Réanimation des Détresses Respiratoires et des Infections Sévères UMR-CNRS 7278, Aix-Marseile Université, Marseille, France.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24108510

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most common infection in the intensive care unit and is associated with substantial death rates.

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of statins on 28 day death rates in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia. This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, multicenter trial performed in 26 intensive care units in France included 300 patients who took either simvastatin or placebo.

The study found that patients taking statins had a 45% increased risk of death in 28 days compared to patients not taking statins.

The trial was due to analyse 1,002 patient but was stopped early because of the excess deaths in the patients taking simvastatin. Papazian commented: "It would have been ethically unacceptable to continue the trial after the interim analysis, which showed higher day-28 mortality in the simvastatin group".

Daily butter consumption halves the risk of asthma compared to daily margarine consumption

This study was published in Thorax 2003 Jul;58(7):567-72

Study title and authors:
Association of consumption of products containing milk fat with reduced asthma risk in pre-school children: the PIAMA birth cohort study.

Wijga AH, Smit HA, Kerkhof M, de Jongste JC, Gerritsen J, Neijens HJ, Boshuizen HC, Brunekreef B
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology (CZE), Bilthoven, The Netherlands. Alet.Wijga@rivm.nl

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12832666

This study investigated the role of diet in the development of asthma in pre-school children. The study included 2,978 children. Data was collected at the age of two years and related to asthma symptoms reported at the age of three years.

The study found:
(a) Children who consumed butter daily had a 51% reduced risk of asthma compared to children who consumed margarine daily.
(b) Children who consumed full fat milk daily had a 29% reduced risk of asthma compared to children who consumed semi-skimmed milk daily.
(c) Children who consumed butter daily had a 58% reduced risk of asthma compared to children who consumed butter less than once a week. 

Statin users have a 45% increased risk of acute large bowel ischemia

This study was published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2010 Jan;8(1):49-54

Study title and authors:
Diseases and drugs that increase risk of acute large bowel ischemia.

Longstreth GF, Yao JF.
Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Plan, San Diego, California, USA. george.f.longstreth@kp.org

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19765672

Acute large bowel ischemia is damage to the large intestine due to a decrease in its blood supply. It is a common cause of hospitalisation for acute abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, or diarrhea that increases markedly with age.

This study investigated factors that maybe associated with acute large bowel ischemia. The study included 379 patients with acute large bowel ischemia and 1,516 controls (average age, 69 years; range, 25-97 years).

Regarding statins, the study found that statin users had a 45% increased risk of acute large bowel ischemia compared to non users.

Statins are significantly associated with increased myositis risk.

This study was published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 2007 Aug;60(8):812-8

Study title and authors:
Statin and statin-fibrate use was significantly associated with increased myositis risk in a managed care population.

McClure DL, Valuck RJ, Glanz M, Murphy JR, Hokanson JE.
Clinical Research Unit, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Denver, CO 80237-8066, USA. david.1.mcclure@kp.org

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17606177

This four year study quantified the risk of myositis (myositis cases were defined as creatine kinase levels more than 10x upper limit of normal and a myopathy (muscle disease) diagnosis) associated with statin and fibrate drug use within a managed care organization population.

The study found:
(a) Statin users had a 180% increased risk of myositis compared to non-users.
(b) Statin-fibrate combination users had a 810% increased risk of myositis compared to non-users.

The results from this study show that statins, with or without fibrates, were significantly associated with increased myositis risk.

Statins increase the risk of death by 21% in women with breast cancer

This study was published in PLoS One 2013 Sep 25;8(9):e75088

 

Study title and authors:

Mortality and Recurrence Risk in Relation to the Use of Lipid-Lowering Drugs in a Prospective Breast Cancer Patient Cohort.

Nickels S, Vrieling A, Seibold P, Heinz J, Obi N, Flesch-Janys D, Chang-Claude J.

Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24086446

This study investigated the effects of cholesterol lowering drugs (the vast majority (85%) were taking statins) on women diagnosed with breast cancer. The study included 3,189 women, aged 50 and older, who were followed for 5.3 years.

The study found:
(a) Women taking statins had a 21% increased risk of death compared to women not taking statins.
(b) Women taking statins had a 4% increased risk of death from breast cancer compared to women not taking statins.
(c) Women taking statins had a 49% increased risk of death from causes other than breast cancer compared to women not taking statins.