Statin use associated with a reduced risk of hip fracture in patients with gout
Chun-Ming Chen,
Wan-Ting Huang,
Sheng-Feng Sung,
Chih-Cheng Hsu,
Yueh-Han Hsu
Affiliations
Chun-Ming Chen
Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi 60002, Taiwan
Wan-Ting Huang
Clinical Medicine Research Center, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi 60002, Taiwan
Sheng-Feng Sung
Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi 60002, Taiwan; Department of Beauty & Health Care, Min-Hwei Junior College of Health Care Management, Tainan 73658, Taiwan
Chih-Cheng Hsu
Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan; Department of Family Medicine, Min-Sheng General Hospital, Taoyuan 33044, Taiwan
Yueh-Han Hsu
Department of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi 60002, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, Min-Hwei Junior College of Health Care Management, Tainan 73658, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan; Corresponding author at: Department of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, 539 Zhong-Xiao Road, Chiayi City 60002, Taiwan.
Studies show that statins users are at reduced risk of fracture and improved bone mineral density. However, the clinical effectiveness of statin use in patients with gout has not been investigated. This retrospective cohort study used data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, consisting of 3443 patients with gout using statins aged 50 years and above and 6886 gout patients of non-statin users matched by sex, age and propensity score. The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that statin use was associated with a reduced risk of hip fracture (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.78, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.64–0.94) after controlling for potential confounding factors. The association was significant in both genders aged 50–64 years, with aHRs of near 0.35, but not in the elderly. In addition, women aged 50–64 years who used statins also exhibited a lower risk of vertebral fracture (aHR = 0.70, 95 % CI = 0.50–0.99), but not men. In conclusion, the stating use in gout patients could reduce fracture risk for younger patients. Further research is warranted to confirm these findings.
