Effect of Statins on Prevalence and Mortality of Influenza Virus Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

IntroductionThe aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the effect of ongoing statin treatment on susceptibility to influenza virus infection and on influenza-associated mortality.Material and methodsStudies investigating the impact of statin treatment on influenza prevalence and mortality were searched in PubMed-Medline, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, Embase, Proquest, OVID, EBSCO and CINAHLdatabases (up to June 30, 2020). Fixed- and random-effects model and generic inverse variance method were used for quantitative data synthesis.ResultsIn the meta-analysis of 15 arms of 3 eligible studies including flu-vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, treatment with statins was associated with a reduction of influenza virus prevalence [Odds Ratio (OR) 0.85, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.73-0.99; p 0.040]. No significant effect of statins on the susceptibility to influenza infection was observed in the distinct communities of either vaccinated or unvaccinated subjects. Among 9 arms of 6 eligible studies, the use of statins among patients with influenza was associated with a reduced mortality [OR (95% CI), 0.68 (0.56, 0.82); p<0.001]. This result was confirmed for both 30-day mortality since influenza infection diagnosis [OR (95% CI), 0.61 (0.47, 0.80); p<0.001] and for up to 90-day mortality [OR (95% CI), 0.74 (0.55, 1.00); p=0.042].ConclusionsA reduced influenza prevalence and anincreased survivalfrom influenza infection was observed in patients on ongoing statin treatment. Further research is needed to define the possible role of statins as adjunctive therapy in patients with influenza infection.