SynthesisDiabetes & metabolism2021
Statins and clinical outcomes with COVID-19: Meta-analyses of observational studies.
Synthesis in Diabetes & metabolism, 2021. The graph read 1 number from its abstract, feeding 1 cell of the map: it finds no clear difference in 1. Cited by 29 papers.
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.
RESULTS: Regarding mortality, 13 studies were included in the meta-analysis for a total of 10,829 statin users (2517 deaths) and 31,893 non-users (7516 deaths): univariate analysis showed no statistically significant reduction in deaths (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.92-1.03), although between-study heterogeneity was high (I² = 97%).
clause the extractor read what became the number
Where it lands on the map
Rows are treatments, columns are outcomes. The coloured squares are the cells this paper feeds, coloured by the vote it casts there. Click one to jump to what this paper adds to it.
What it adds to each cell
For every cell the paper feeds: the belief in the claim with and without this paper, and this paper's estimate drawn against every other readable study in the cell. The ringed dot is this paper.
Statins×all-cause mortality
InconclusiveOpen on the map →What to test next →14 readable studies in this cell: 3 favour the treatment, 9 find no difference, 2 favour the comparator.
This paper's own estimate is on a different scale from the rest of the cell, so it is not drawn here.
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.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Statin and aspirin as adjuvant therapy in hospitalised patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a randomised clinical trial (RESIST trial).BMC infectious diseases · 2022Trial
- Association Between Statin Use, Cytokine Storm, and Clinical Outcomes in COVID-19 Patients with Diabetes.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Do Statins Affect Viral Infections Encountered by International Travelers?Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Review
- A versatile attention-based neural network for chemical perturbation analysis and its potential to aid surgical treatment: an experimental study.International journal of surgery (London, England) · 2024Article
- Article
- ACE2, ACE, DPPIV, PREP and CAT L enzymatic activities in COVID-19: imbalance of ACE2/ACE ratio and potential RAAS dysregulation in severe cases.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2023Article
- Understanding the molecular mechanisms of statin pleiotropic effects.Archives of toxicology · 2023Review
- Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular Disease, and COVID-19: A Narrative Review.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- The Effects of Statins on Respiratory Symptoms and Pulmonary Fibrosis in COVID-19 Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: A Longitudinal Multicenter Study.Archivum immunologiae et therapiae experimentalis · 2023Article
- Association of statin use with outcomes of patients admitted with COVID-19: an analysis of electronic health records using superlearner.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Statins Use in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases and COVID-19 Outcomes: An Italian Population-Based Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Factors Associated with Discontinuation of Statin Therapy in Patients with Lymphoma Aged 80 Years and Older: A Retrospective Single-Institute Study.Drugs - real world outcomes · 2022Article
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Statin Use and Mortality, Intensive Care Unit Admission and Requirement for Mechanical Ventilation in COVID-19 Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- COVID-19 metabolism: Mechanisms and therapeutic targets.MedComm · 2022Review
- Immunomodulatory therapy for the management of critically ill patients with COVID-19: A narrative review.World journal of critical care medicine · 2022Article
- High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in COVID-19: extrapolation of dangerous liaisons.Inflammopharmacology · 2022Review
- The importance of neopterin in COVID-19: The prognostic value and relation with the disease severity.Clinical biochemistry · 2022Review
- The Impact of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on the Course of COVID-19.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Discontinuation of atorvastatin use in hospital is associated with increased risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients.Journal of hospital medicine · 2022Article
- COVID-19 and Diabetes Outcomes: Rationale for and Updates from the CORONADO Study.Current diabetes reports · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The marked sentences are the ones the graph read a number from.
aimsPeople with cardiovascular disease or risk factors are at increased risk when exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Most are treated with statins, but the impact of these drugs on clinical outcomes of COVID-19 remains unclear. This report is therefore based on meta-analyses of retrospective observational studies aimed at investigating the impact of previous statin therapy in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
methodsIn studies reporting on the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in statin users vs non-users, two endpoints have been used-in-hospital death rates, and disease severity as assessed by admission to intensive care units (ICUs)-with a special focus on patients with diabetes.
resultsRegarding mortality, 13 studies were included in the meta-analysis for a total of 10,829 statin users (2517 deaths) and 31,893 non-users (7516 deaths): univariate analysis showed no statistically significant reduction in deaths (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.92-1.03), although between-study heterogeneity was high (I² = 97%). As for disease severity, 11 studies were selected for a total of 3462 statin users (724 endpoints) and 10,560 non-users (1763 endpoints): here again, univariate analysis showed no reduction in severity (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.99-1.22; I² = 93%). Collectively, in 10 studies using multivariable analysis adjusted for the more prevalent baseline risk factors among statin users, lower OR values were reported than with univariate analyses (0.73 ± 0.31 vs 1.44 ± 0.84, respectively; P = 0.0028; adjusted OR: P = 0.0237 vs non-users). Limited but conflicting findings were observed for diabetes patients.
conclusionAlthough no significant reductions in either in-hospital mortality or COVID-19 severity were reported among statin users compared with non-users after univariate comparisons, such reductions were observed after adjusting for confounding factors. These highly heterogeneous observational findings now require confirmation by ongoing randomized clinical trials.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.