title: Long-term statin use and the risk of gallstone disease: A population-based case-control study.
abstract: Most gallstones originate from cholesterol-supersaturated bile. Statins inhibit hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis and therefore may reduce the risk of gallstone disease. Population-based evidence, however, is sparse. Thus, the authors conducted a population-based case-control study using medical databases from northern Denmark (1.7 million inhabitants) to identify 32,494 cases of gallstones occurring between 1996 and 2008 and to identify age-, sex-, and county-matched population controls for each case. Cases and their matched controls who were exposed to lipid-lowering drugs were categorized as current users if their last prescription was redeemed ≤90 days before the case's diagnosis date; otherwise, they were categorized as former users. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for gallstone disease in patients treated with lipid-lowering drugs. In current users, the adjusted odds ratios associating statin use with the occurrence of gallstone disease were 1.17 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.30) for those who had 1-4 prescriptions, 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.97) for those who had 5-19 prescriptions, and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.69, 0.84) for those who had ≥20 total prescriptions. In former users, the corresponding adjusted odds ratios were 1.24 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.39), 0.97 (95% CI: 0.86, 1.10), and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.97), respectively. The use of other lipid-lowering drugs showed no similar association.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. re@dce.au.dk
authors.forename: Rune
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Erichsen
authors.forename: Trine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Frøslev
authors.forename: Timothy L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Lash
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Henrik Toft
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Sørensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D042882:Gallstones / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors