ArticleClinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society2026
Statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in Germany: benefits and costs.
Article in Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Profiles of PCSK9, SREBP-2, and histopathology in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 critical illness.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe reduction of LDL cholesterol lowers the risk of coronary and cerebrovascular events in individuals without manifest cardiovascular diseases. In Germany, statins at the expense of statutory health insurance had only been permitted for patients with atherosclerosis-related diseases or those at high cardiovascular risk (over 20 percent event probability within the next 10 years, calculated using one of the "available risk calculators"). However, international guidelines recommend lower risk thresholds for the use of statins.
methodsThe health and economic impacts of different risk thresholds for statin use in primary prevention within the German population are estimated for thresholds of 7.5, 10, and 15 percent over 10 years, based on the US Pooled Cohort Equation (PCE) which is valid for Germany, using Markov models.
findingsCost-effectiveness increases with a rising risk threshold, while individual benefit decreases with age at the start of treatment. The use of statins at a risk of 7.5 percent or more is cost-effective at any age (cost per QALY between 410 and 2100 Euros). In none of the examined scenarios does the proportion of the population qualifying for statin therapy exceed 25 percent.
interpretationLowering the threshold for statin therapy to a risk of 7.5 percent of either non-fatal myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease death, non-fatal or fatal stroke would align statin prescription in Germany with international standards. There is no urgent rationale for applying age-stratified risk thresholds.
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