A new Danish study has found that starting statin medication after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes may be associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
These findings are particularly important because patients with type 2 diabetes face a higher risk of developing dementia, and there is currently no effective treatment for the disease. Therefore, researchers are focusing on reducing controllable risk factors.
The study relied on data from the Danish National Health Registry. It was an observational study, meaning it observed the relationship between statin use and dementia, but it does not prove that statins are the direct cause of the reduced risk.
The researchers analyzed data from 132,585 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 2006 and 2019, none of whom had taken statins prior to their diabetes diagnosis.
The researchers divided the participants according to the timing of their start to statin treatment, and then compared their risk of developing dementia with those who did not receive these drugs.
The results showed that those who started treatment within less than a year of their diabetes diagnosis had a 15% lower risk of developing dementia after 10 years of follow-up, compared to those who did not receive statins.
Those who started treatment one to five years after their diabetes diagnosis had a 10% lower risk of developing dementia after 10 years, compared to the group that did not use statins.
When calculating the absolute risk, i.e. the probability of a person developing dementia within a 10-year period, the rate was 3.9% for those who did not receive statins, compared to 3.5% for those who started treatment late, and 3.3% for those who started treatment within the first year of diagnosis.
Statins are used to lower levels of LDL-C (bad cholesterol), which is a risk factor associated with cardiovascular disease.
Patients with type 2 diabetes are more prone to cholesterol level disturbances, and high levels of LDL cholesterol are a modifiable risk factor for dementia prevention, according to the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention Recommendations 2024.
This overlap between diabetes, high cholesterol, and dementia has prompted researchers to investigate whether statin use could be associated with a reduced risk of dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Thomas Turnhammer of Copenhagen University Hospital, who led the study, said: "In individuals who develop type 2 diabetes, the use of statins was associated with a reduced risk of dementia, and this reduction was more pronounced in those who started treatment earlier."
Despite the importance of the results, the researchers emphasize that the nature of the study does not allow for proof that statins directly prevent dementia.
Isabel Gonçalves, a cardiovascular researcher at the European Society of Cardiology who was not involved in the study, said that type 2 diabetics already have a high risk of developing dementia and are advised to lower their cholesterol levels to reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes.
She added that the study suggests that starting statin therapy soon after a diabetes diagnosis may be associated with a slight reduction in the risk of dementia, and that starting early may be more beneficial than delaying treatment.
Researchers do not yet know the exact reason behind this correlation, or the mechanisms that could explain it, which makes further studies necessary.
However, the researchers believe the findings are worth noting, especially since statins are already used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in many patients with type 2 diabetes.
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