Statin Therapy and the Risk of Intracerebral Hemorrhage A Meta-Analysis of 31 Randomized Controlled Trials

• Published in: Stroke (1970) Vol. 43; no. 8; pp. 2149 - 2156
• Main Authors: MCKINNEY, James S, KOSTIS, William J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-08-2012
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Blood. Blood coagulation. Reticuloendothelial system; Cerebral Hemorrhage - epidemiology; Cerebral Hemorrhage - mortality; Cerebrovascular Disorders - epidemiology; Cerebrovascular Disorders - mortality; Female; Humans; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - adverse effects; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Lipoproteins, LDL - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Odds Ratio; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Stroke - mortality; Stroke - prevention & control; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Stroke; Nervous system diseases; meta-analysis; Cardiovascular disease; Statin derivative; hemorrhagic stroke; Cerebral disorder; Vascular disease; intracerebral hemorrhage; Treatment; statin; Cerebral hemorrhage; Central nervous system disease; Risk factor; Cerebrovascular disease; Antilipemic agent
• ISSN: 0039-2499; 1524-4628
• DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.112.655894

Statin therapy decreases the risk of ischemic stroke. An increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been observed in some studies. To investigate this issue, we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials using statins that reported ICH.
We performed a literature search of Medline, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library through January 25, 2012, and identified additional randomized controlled trials by reviewing reference lists of retrieved studies and prior meta-analyses. All randomized controlled trials of statin therapy that reported ICH or hemorrhagic stroke were included. The primary outcome variable was ICH. Thirty-one randomized controlled trials were included. All analyses used random effects models and heterogeneity was not observed in any of the analyses.
A total of 91,588 subjects were included in the active group and 91,215 in the control group. There was no significant difference in incidence of ICH observed in the active treatment group versus control (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.88-1.32; P=0.47). ICH risk was not related to the degree of low-density lipoprotein reduction or achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Total stroke (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78-0.91; P<0.0001) and all-cause mortality (OR, 0.92; CI, 0.87-0.96; P=0.0007) were significantly reduced in the active therapy group. There was no evidence of publication bias.
Active statin therapy was not associated with significant increase in ICH in this meta-analysis of 31 randomized controlled trials of statin therapy. A significant reduction in all stroke and all-cause mortality was observed with statin therapy.