Incidence of new coronary events in older persons with prior myocardial infarction and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥ 125 mg/dl treated with statins versus no lipid-lowering drug

In an observational prospective study of 1,410 persons, mean age 81 9 years, with prior myocardial infarction and a serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of greater than or equal to125 mg/dl, 679 (48%) were treated with statins and 731 (52%) with no lipid-lowering drugs. At 36-month follow-up, the stepwise Cox regression model showed that significant independent predictors of new coronary events were age (risk ratio 1.04 for a 1-year increase in age), cigarette smoking (risk ratio 2.3), systemic hypertension (risk ratio 1.5), diabetes mellitus (risk ratio 1.9), initial serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (risk ratio 1.01 for each 1-mg/dl increase), initial serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (risk ratio 0.96 for each 1-mg/dl increase), and use of statins (risk ratio 0.50).