Statin use and risk of gastroduodenal ulcer and reflux esophagitis.
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.
Fujii
Takaaki
T
Department of General Surgical Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Gunma, Japan. ftakaaki@med.gunma-u.ac.jp
Nakabayashi
Toshihiro
T
Hashimoto
Shinji
S
Kuwano
Hiroyuki
H
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
D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors