P2‐104: Statins and dementia prevention: A population‐based study (FINRISK)

Disturbances in cholesterol metabolism have been linked to dementia development and statins were shown to be beneficial in dementia prevention in some (but not all) studies. The objective of this study is to investigate statin use in relation to dementia development in a Finnish population. FINRISK is a large population-based survey of cardiovascular risk factors carried out since 1972 every five years using independent, random and representative population samples from different parts of Finland. Several cohorts were part of the WHO-MONICA study (selection protocol: min 250 persons of each sex and 10-year age group from each area; age range 25-64 years). Data from cohorts 1972-1992 was linked to the Hospital Discharge Registry and Drug Reimbursement Registry (1995-2007) to ascertain dementia diagnoses and use of statins. Only persons who were alive, without dementia and at least 65 years old in 1995 (when statins became available in Finland) were included in analyses. Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the statins-dementia relation. 14294 persons were selected (mean education (SD) was 6.6 (3.1) years; mean age (SD) in 1995 was 71.8 (4.9) years; 7681 (53.7%) were females). 1301 subjects developed dementia between 1995-2007, and 3392 received statins (there was at least 1 year between drug prescription and dementia diagnosis). Statin use was associated with decreased risk of developing dementia: HR (95%CI) was 0.78 (0.67-0.91) (analyses controlled for age, sex, education, blood pressure, BMI, and cholesterol). Statins seem to have a beneficial effect in dementia prevention, and this effect is partly independent of their cholesterol-lowering effect.