Yea, the STAREE trial has been getting lots of publicity. And for good reason, there’s been a number of open questions regarding statin use in older populations.
As the headlines report, there was a 30% relative risk reduction in cardiovascular events for those using a statin. In absolute terms, 8.3% of people on placebo had a cardiovascular event over about six years, versus 6.0% on the statin. That works out to roughly 40 people taking a pill every day for six years to prevent one event. In this case, the event was non-fatal heart attacks, whereas there was no difference in cardiovascular death, and the differences in stroke didn’t reach statistical significance.
The side effect profile compared to placebo looked pretty good, but the benefit on healthspan (living independently) remains open.
My take? If someone’s in their early seventies, in decent health, and reasonably expects another decade or more, this is now decent evidence for offering a statin.