Exploring the Association between Statin Use and the Risk of Parkinson’s Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

Abstract

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system. The prevalence of PD varies considerably by age group; it has a higher prevalence in patients aged 60 years and more. Several studies have shown that statin, a cholesterol-lowering medication, reduces the risk of developing PD, but evidence for this is so far inconclusive. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between statin use and the risk of developing PD. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and the bibliographies of articles were searched for studies published between January 1, 1990, and January 1, 2017, which reported on the association between statin use and PD. Articles were included if they (1) were published in English, (2) reported patients treated with statin, and the outcome of interest was PD, (3) provided OR/HR with 95% CI or sufficient information to calculate the 95% CI. All abstracts, full-text articles, and sources were reviewed, with duplicate data excluded. Summary relative risk (RRs) with 95% CI was pooled using a random-effects model. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Results: We selected 16 out of 529 unique abstracts for full-text review using our selection criteria, and 13 out of these 16 studies, comprising 4,877,059 persons, met all of our inclusion criteria. The overall pooled RR of PD was 0.70 (95% CI 0.58–0.84) with significant heterogeneity between estimates (I² = 93.41%, p = 0.000) for the random-effects model. In subgroup analysis, the greater decreased risk was found in studies from Asia (RR 0.62 95% CI 0.51–0.76), whereas a moderate reduction was observed in studies from North America (RR 0.69 95% CI 0.47–1.00), but less reduction was observed in studies from Europe (RR 0.86 95% CI 0.80–0.92). Also, long-term statin use, simvastatin, and atorvastatin showed a higher rate of reduction with significance heterogeneity. Conclusion: Our results showed that statin use is significantly associated with a lower risk of developing PD. Physicians should consider statin drug therapy, monitor its outcomes, and empower their patients to improve their knowledge, therapeutic outcomes, and quality of life. However, preventive measures and their associated mechanisms must be further assessed and explored.

NEAT1 is overexpressed in Parkinson's disease substantia nigra and confers drug‐inducible neuroprotection from oxidative stress

“…This offers another mechanism to explain the neuroprotective traits of these drugs (16, 60, 63, 64) and calls for investigating the effects of additional blood-brain barrier–penetrable agents on NEAT1 levels. However, although simvastatin and fenofibrate elevate NEAT1 expression, other widely used drugs may suppress its expression, which could be harmful in particular patients with PD, such as carriers of the LRRK2 mutation.…”

Increase Risk of Multiple Sclerosis in Patients with Psoriasis Disease: An Evidence of Observational Studies

“…This meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses [13,14].…”

“…and H.-C.Y.) who are experts in drug and disease relationship research [13,[15][16][17][18]. The relevant electronic databases (e.g., PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus) were searched for articles published between January 1, 1990 and November 1, 2017, which reported the possible association between psoriasis and MS risk.…”

Progress of Pharmacological Approaches in Parkinson's Disease

“…The intake of statins was associated with a decreased risk for developing PD in the majority of epidemiological studies. Thus, statins might potentially serve as neuroprotective agents, but further confirmatory studies are warranted . Several substances used for symptomatic therapy have been examined with regard to their disease‐modifying effects.…”