title: Statin therapy and the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage: a meta-analysis of 31 randomized controlled trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Statin therapy decreases the risk of ischemic stroke. An increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been observed in some studies. To investigate this issue, we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials using statins that reported ICH.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a literature search of Medline, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library through January 25, 2012, and identified additional randomized controlled trials by reviewing reference lists of retrieved studies and prior meta-analyses. All randomized controlled trials of statin therapy that reported ICH or hemorrhagic stroke were included. The primary outcome variable was ICH. Thirty-one randomized controlled trials were included. All analyses used random effects models and heterogeneity was not observed in any of the analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 91,588 subjects were included in the active group and 91,215 in the control group. There was no significant difference in incidence of ICH observed in the active treatment group versus control (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.88-1.32; P=0.47). ICH risk was not related to the degree of low-density lipoprotein reduction or achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Total stroke (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78-0.91; P<0.0001) and all-cause mortality (OR, 0.92; CI, 0.87-0.96; P=0.0007) were significantly reduced in the active therapy group. There was no evidence of publication bias.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Active statin therapy was not associated with significant increase in ICH in this meta-analysis of 31 randomized controlled trials of statin therapy. A significant reduction in all stroke and all-cause mortality was observed with statin therapy.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey and the Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. mckinnjs@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: McKinney
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kostis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL