1. Statin use and pain in older people with cancer: a cross-sectional study.
- Author
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Turner JP, Shakib S, Singhal N, Hogan-Doran J, Prowse R, Johns S, Thynne T, and Bell JS
- Subjects
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Australia epidemiology, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Palliative Care statistics & numerical data, Primary Prevention statistics & numerical data, Secondary Prevention statistics & numerical data, Visual Analog Scale, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors therapeutic use, Neoplasms epidemiology, Pain epidemiology
- Abstract
Objectives: To investigate statin use and pain in people with cancer aged 70 to 79 and 80 and older., Design: Cross-sectional., Setting: Medical oncology outpatient clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital., Participants: Individuals aged 70 and older who presented consecutively between January 2009 and June 2010 (n = 385), of whom 106 were aged 80 and older., Measurements: Participants completed a structured data collection instrument, documenting medication use, comorbidities and a general pain assessment (10-point visual analogue scale (VAS)). Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for factors associated with statin use., Results: The prevalence of statin use was 35% (n = 97) in people aged 70 to 79 and 39% (n = 41) in those aged 80 and older. After adjusting for age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and analgesic use, statin use was associated with self-reported pain (VAS ≥ 5) (OR = 4.09, 95% CI = 1.32-12.68) in people aged 80 and older but not in those aged 70 to 79. Half of participants using statins (51% n = 70) had a palliative treatment approach. Of the 41 statin users aged 80 and older, 20 (49%) were using statins for primary prevention., Conclusion: The prevalence of statin use was similar in people aged 70 to 79 years and those aged 80 and older, with statin use associated with self-reported pain in people aged 80 and older. This highlights a potential benefit of "deprescribing" statins in older people with cancer, especially those aged 80 and older., (© 2014, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2014, The American Geriatrics Society.)
- Published
- 2014
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