ReviewCardiovascular drugs and therapy2008
Effects of statins on high-density lipoproteins: a potential contribution to cardiovascular benefit.
Review in Cardiovascular drugs and therapy, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 172 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- HDL-cholesterol levels and risk of age-related macular degeneration: a multiethnic genetic study using Mendelian randomization.International journal of epidemiology · 2017Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of HDL cholesterol response to statins.Journal of medical genetics · 2016Pooled it
- Trial
- Efficacy and safety of co-administered telmisartan/amlodipine and rosuvastatin in subjects with hypertension and dyslipidemia.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2020Trial
- Association of Non-LDL Indices with Recurrent Stroke Risk while on Lipid-Modifying Therapy.Journal of atherosclerosis and thrombosis · 2020Trial
- Evaluation of drug interactions between fimasartan and rosuvastatin after single and multiple doses in healthy Caucasians.Drug design, development and therapy · 2018Trial
- L-Carnitine/Simvastatin Reduces Lipoprotein (a) Levels Compared with Simvastatin Monotherapy: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study.Lipids · 2017 · on this mapTrial
- Paradoxical negative HDL cholesterol response to atorvastatin and simvastatin treatment in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients.The review of diabetic studies : RDSTrial
- Clinical Significance of Lipoprotein and Ceruloplasmin Variations in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study in Owo, Nigeria.Rwanda journal of medicine and health sciences · 2026Article
- Lipid dysregulation after hematopoietic stem cell transplant.Haematologica · 2026Article
- Defective high-density lipoprotein lipoprotection in type 2 diabetes during acute myocardial infarction is rescued by apolipoprotein M/sphingosine-1-phosphate loading.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Review
- Association of oil spill-related volatile organic compound exposure with CVD-related biomarkers in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- High-density lipoprotein: a biomarker and therapeutic target in sepsis.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Review
- Elucidating the causal role of age of menarche, adiposity, lipid fractions, and blood pressure upon cardiovascular disease: a multivariable Mendelian randomization study.Journal of human hypertension · 2025Article
- Glycaemic control, low levels of high-density lipoprotein, and high cardiovascular risk are associated with cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2025Article
- Low HDL-The Challenge.Clinical medicine & research · 2025Review
- The one-key-to-two-doors role of lipidomics: plasma lipidome, cardiovascular risk and statin usage.Journal of lipid research · 2025Article
- High-density lipoproteins and COVID-19: preparing the next pandemic.Journal of lipid research · 2025Review
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe objective was to systematically review clinical trial data on the effects of statins on high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and to examine the possibility that this provides cardiovascular benefits in addition to those derived from reductions in low-density lipoproteins (LDL).
methodsThe PubMed database was searched for publications describing clinical trials of atorvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin. On the basis of predefined criteria, 103 were selected for review.
resultsCompared with placebo, statins raise HDL, measured as HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I); these elevations are maintained in the long-term. In hypercholesterolemia, HDL-C is raised by approximately 4% to 10%. The percentage changes are greater in patients with low baseline levels, including those with the common combination of high triglycerides (TG) and low HDL-C. These effects do not appear to be dose-related although there is evidence that, with the exception of atorvastatin, the changes in HDL-C are proportional to reductions in apo B-containing lipoproteins. The most likely explanation is a reduced rate of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP)-mediated flow of cholesterol from HDL. There is some evidence that the statin effects on HDL reduce progression of atherosclerosis and risk of cardiovascular disease independently of reductions in LDL.
conclusionStatins cause modest increases in HDL-C and apo A-I probably mediated by reductions in CETP activity. It is plausible that such changes independently contribute to the cardiovascular benefits of the statin class but more studies are needed to further explore this possibility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.