Atorvastatin, Cardiovascular Events, and Disability-free Survival in Older Adults.

Atorvastatin reduces major cardiovascular events by 30% in adults aged 70 and older but does not extend disability-free survival over nearly six years.

• Why it matters: Understanding whether statins can prevent both cardiovascular events and disability in older adults is crucial, as their safety and benefits in this age group remain uncertain.
• What they did: A double-blind, randomized trial involving 9,971 community-dwelling adults aged 70+ compared 40 mg of atorvastatin daily with placebo, assessing cardiovascular and disability-free outcomes over a median of 5.9 years.
• The result: Atorvastatin significantly lowered the risk of major cardiovascular events (hazard ratio 0.70) but did not improve disability-free survival, with similar rates of serious adverse events in both groups.