Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19889220›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2009

The impact of statins on health services utilization and mortality in older adults discharged from hospital with ischemic heart disease: a cohort study.

Charmaine A Cooke, Susan A Kirkland, Ingrid S Sketris, Jafna Cox

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Observational
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Charmaine A CookePopulation Health Research Unit, Dalhousie University, 5790 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1V7, Canada. charmaine.cooke@dal.ca
Susan A Kirkland
Ingrid S Sketris
Jafna Cox
Dalhousie University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) carries a high burden of morbidity and mortality and is associated with significant utilization of health care resources, especially in the elderly. Numerous randomized trials have established the efficacy of cholesterol reduction with statin medications in decreasing mortality in high-risk populations. However, it is not known what the effect of the utilization of these medications in complex older adults has had on mortality and on the utilization of health services, such as physician visits, hospitalizations or cardiovascular procedures.

methodsThis project linked clinical and hospital data from the Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Nova Scotia (ICONS) database with administrative data from the Population Health Research Unit to identify all older adults hospitalized with ischemic heart disease between October 15, 1997 and March 31, 2001. All patients were followed for at least one year or until death. Multiple regression techniques, including Cox proportional hazards models and generalized linear models were employed to compare health services utilization and mortality for statin users and non-statin users.

resultsOf 4232 older adults discharged alive from the hospital, 1629 (38%) received a statin after discharge. In multivariate models after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics, and propensity score, statins were associated with a 26% reduction in all- cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63-0.88). However, statin use was not associated with subsequent reductions in health service utilization, including re-hospitalizations (HR, 0.98, 95% CI 0.91-1.06), physician visits (relative risk (RR) 0.97, 95% CI 0.92-1.02) or coronary revascularization procedures (HR 1.15, 95% CI 0.97-1.36).

conclusionAs the utilization of statins continues to grow, their impact on the health care system will continue to be important. Future studies are needed to continue to ensure that those who would realize significant benefit from the medication receive it.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCause of DeathCohort StudiesHealth ServicesHealth Services ResearchHumansHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase InhibitorsMultivariate AnalysisMyocardial IschemiaNova ScotiaPatient DischargePatient ReadmissionRegression AnalysisUtilization ReviewHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors

Identifiers

PMID19889220
PMCPMC2781001
OpenAlexW2101843081

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.