Evidence mapPaperPMID 33283039Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.)2020

Statin therapy and risk of Alzheimer's and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

Georgina Torrandell-Haro, Gregory L Branigan, Francesca Vitali, Nophar Geifman, Julie M Zissimopoulos, Roberta Diaz Brinton

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
45citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
9.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

45 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Target the Heart: A New Axis of Alzheimer's Disease Prevention.Journal of dementia and alzheimer's disease · 2025
    Article
  10. Multisystem failure, tipping points, and risk of Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
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  16. Article
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  18. Article
  19. The role of CD56Journal of neuroinflammation · 2024
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Georgina Torrandell-HaroCenter for Innovation in Brain Science University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA.
Gregory L BraniganCenter for Innovation in Brain Science University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA.
Francesca VitaliCenter for Innovation in Brain Science University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA.
Nophar GeifmanDivision of Informatics, Imaging & Data Sciences University of Manchester Tucson Arizona USA.
Julie M ZissimopoulosSol Price School of Public Policy Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics University of Southern California Tucson Arizona USA.
Roberta Diaz BrintonCenter for Innovation in Brain Science University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA.
Center for Innovation · USUniversity of Arizona · USArizona Science Center · USUniversity of Southern California · US

Funding

Project 4: Longitudinal Brain Imaging for Alzheimer's Biomarkers across Peri to Post Menopausal Transition: Therapeutic Targets and WindowsP01AG026572 · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2025 to 2025
$2.9M
University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (USC AD/ADRD RCMAR)P30AG043073 · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2025 to 2025
$717k
Aging and Estrogenic Control of the Bioenergetic System in BrainR37AG053589 · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2025 to 2025
$527k
NIA NIH HHS P01 AG026572NIA NIH HHS P30 AG043073NIA NIH HHS R01 AG055401NIA NIH HHS R37 AG053589NIA NIH HHS T32 AG061897
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionEstablishing efficacy of and molecular pathways for statins has the potential to impact incidence of Alzheimer's and age-related neurodegenerative diseases (NDD).

methodsThis retrospective cohort study surveyed US-based Humana claims, which includes prescription and patient records from private-payer and Medicare insurance. Claims from 288,515 patients, aged 45 years and older, without prior history of NDD or neurological surgery, were surveyed for a diagnosis of NDD starting 1 year following statin exposure. Patients were required to be enrolled with claims data for at least 6 months prior to first statin prescription and at least 3 years thereafter. Computational system biology analysis was conducted to determine unique target engagement for each statin.

resultsOf the 288,515 participants included in the study, 144,214 patients (mean [standard deviation (SD)] age, 67.22 [3.8] years) exposed to statin therapies, and 144,301 patients (65.97 [3.2] years) were not treated with statins. The mean (SD) follow-up time was 5.1 (2.3) years. Exposure to statins was associated with a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease (1.10% vs 2.37%; relative risk [RR], 0.4643; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44-0.49; DISCUSSION: Benefits and risks of statins relative to neurological outcomes should be considered when prescribed for at-risk NDD populations. Common statin activated pathways indicate overarching systems required for risk reduction whereas unique targets could advance a precision medicine approach to prevent neurodegenerative diseases.

Indexed as

ageAlzheimer's diseaseamyotrophic lateral sclerosisbioinformaticsbiology pathway analysischolesterolmultiple sclerosisneurodegenerative diseasesParkinson's diseasestatins

Identifiers

PMID33283039
PMCPMC7687291
OpenAlexW3110411991

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.