title: Statin use and risk of gastroduodenal ulcer and reflux esophagitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several trials have demonstrated beneficial effects of statins in some biological activities that go beyond lipid lowering, suggesting that statins might have other therapeutic benefits. However, it remains to be determined whether statin use is correlated with upper gastrointestinal diseases. We investigated the effects of statin therapy on gastroduodenal ulcers or reflux esophagitis (RE) in a case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified 120 newly diagnosed gastroduodenal ulcer cases and 146 RE cases from endoscopic examinees in the Gunma Prefectural Cardiovascular Center. Two controls per case were respectively selected according to sex and age and we determined 240 and 292 controls. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of peptic ulcer and RE for statin use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statin use was not associated with the risk of peptic ulcer (OR 1.2; 95% CI 0.7-2.1), and no elevated OR of RE was shown (OR 0.8; 95%CI 0.5-1.4). Ever use of hydrophilic statins, or lipophilic statins was not associated with the risk of peptic ulcer or RE.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that statin use might not be associated with peptic ulcer or RE. These findings indicate that statin therapy might be safe for patients with upper gastrointestinal disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgical Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Gunma, Japan. ftakaaki@med.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuwano
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004942:Esophagitis, Peptic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors