Evidence mapPaperPMID 41716550Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in neurology2026

The effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs on neurocognitive function: systematic review and meta analysis.

Kaiwei Li, Ying Li, Xia Jiang, Ye Zhu

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

4 authors.

Kaiwei Li *Department of Cardiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Ying Li *Department of Cardiology, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xia JiangDepartment of Cardiology, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Ye ZhuDepartment of Cardiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: To investigate if cholesterol-lowering drugs exert effects on neurocognitive function. Methods: We searched Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Libarary from inception to March 23rd, 2023, and searched clinicaltrials.gov on January 23rd, 2024. Randomized controlled trials that evaluated neurocognitive events and neurocognitive function after using cholesterol-lowering drugs including statins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 inhibitors were collected. The literature screening, data extraction and quality evaluation were carried out independently by two researchers, and the random effect model was used to pool the data. Results: A total of 42 studies with 150,405 subjects were included. Cholesterol-lowering drugs did not increase the risk of neurocognitive events (RR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.88-1.12). Subgroup analysis by the type of drugs did not suggest that statins (RR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.72-1.25), ezetimibe (RR: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.71-1.74) or proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 inhibitors (RR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.87-1.14) increased the risk of neurocognitive events. By pooling the outcomes of the neurocognitive test scale, we found that cholesterol-lowering drugs did not change neurocognitive function in the five domains of attention, psychomotor speed, executive function, working memory and memory, as well as global effect. Conclusion: Cholesterol-lowering drugs including statins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors and PCSK9 inhibitors have no adverse effects on neurocognitive function. The decrease of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol will not lead to the decline of neurocognitive function. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42023404802, Identifier: CRD42023404802.

Indexed as

cholesterol absorption inhibitorscholesterol lowering drugcholesterol-lowering drugsdementialow density lipoprotein cholesterolneurocognitive functionproprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 inhibitorsstatins

Identifiers

PMID41716550
PMCPMC12913106

What Socratic holds

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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.