Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34347799›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Statins and the progression of age-related macular degeneration in the United States.

Cassie A Ludwig, Daniel Vail, Nitya A Rajeshuni, Ahmad Al-Moujahed, Tatiana Rosenblatt, Natalia F Callaway, Malini Veerappan Pasricha, Marco H Ji, Darius M Moshfeghi

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

13 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Association of current Statin use with incident age-related macular degeneration: using time-varying propensity scores.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026
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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

9 authors.

Cassie A LudwigDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.
Daniel VailDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-8769-2369
Nitya A RajeshuniDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.
Ahmad Al-MoujahedDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.
Tatiana RosenblattDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-1694-405X
Natalia F CallawayDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.
Malini Veerappan PasrichaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.
Marco H JiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-7033-7763
Darius M MoshfeghiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-2254-292X

Funding

Stanford Vision Research CoreP30EY026877 · NEI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Jeffrey L Goldberg · 2017 to 2026
$8.0M
NEI NIH HHS P30 EY026877
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo study the effect of statin exposure on the progression from non-exudative to exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

methodsRetrospective cohort study of commercially insured patients diagnosed with non-exudative AMD (n = 231,888) from 2007 to 2015. Time-to-event analysis of the association between exposure to lipid-lowering medications and time from non-exudative AMD to exudative AMD diagnosis was conducted. Outcome measures included progression to exudative AMD, indicated by diagnosis codes for exudative AMD or procedural codes for intravitreal injections.

resultsIn the year before and after first AMD diagnosis, 11,330 patients were continuously prescribed lipid-lowering medications and 31,627 patients did not take any lipid-lowering medication. Of those taking statins, 21 (1.6%) patients were on very-high-dose lipophilic statins, 644 (47.6%) on high-dose lipophilic statins, and 689 (50.9%) on low-dose lipophilic statins. We found no statistically significant relationship between exposure to low (HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.38) or high-dose lipophilic statins (HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.45) and progression to exudative AMD. No patients taking very-high-dose lipophilic statins converted from non-exudative to exudative AMD, though this difference was not statistically significant due to the subgroup size (p = .23, log-rank test).

conclusionsNo statistically significant relationship was found between statin exposure and risk of AMD progression. Interestingly, no patients taking very-high-dose lipophilic statins progressed to exudative AMD, a finding that warrants further exploration.

Indexed as

FemaleHumansHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase InhibitorsMacular DegenerationMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentUnited StatesHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors

Identifiers

PMID34347799
PMCPMC8336881

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Registered trials

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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.