Fighting viruses and viral diseases may be easier with the use of statins, a new report from the Oregon Public Health Division says. According to ABC News, researchers with the group analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infections Program and found that statins led to lower rates of death for patients hospitalized with the flu.
Of the 3,000 adult patients admitted to the hospital with influenza between 2007 and 2008, one-third were given statins. The remaining two-thirds were found to be twice as likely to die from the flu, ABC said, even after adjusting for factors like age, race and heart and lung disease.
However, the meaning of the results has been interpreted differently by health officials. While some believe the study shows statins to be a previously unused weapon against influenza, others say simply being healthier accounts for the difference in data.
Meredith Vandermeer of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research believes looking into statin use for flu treatment would be worthwhile.
“Statins are a promising area for further research since the association showed statins decreased odds of dying,” she said.
Others believe the results are simply a reflection of the fact that healthier people take statins, and are thus more likely to recover from the flu.
