The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 63:214 (2008)
© 2008 The Gerontological Society of America
AUTHORS' RESPONSE TO LETTER FROM STRANDBERG AND COLLEAGUES
Caroline G. P. Roberts, MD and
Annabelle Rodriguez, MD
Department of Endocrinology Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, Maryland
Address correspondence to Caroline G. P. Roberts, MD, Department of Endocrinology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205. E-mail : cgproberts{at}gmail.com
Drs. Strandberg, Pitkala, and Tilvis report unpublished follow-up results of the DEBATE [Drugs and Evidence Based Medicine in the Elderly] trial, which randomized 400 community-dwelling elderly adults with self-reported atherosclerotic disease to interventions according to guidelines, or to usual care. Among the interventions were statin therapies, which 52% of the intervention group received during the study period. At baseline, approximately 20% of both the intervention and usual care groups were on lipid-lowering medications. While there were no differences in primary and secondary cardiovascular and mortality end-points between the intervention and usual care groups, the adjusted 6-year survival rate was significantly higher in the statin-treated participants compared to participants not treated with statins.
We would like to thank Dr. Strandberg and colleagues for sharing these data, which support our conclusions. Furthermore, they support the need for and demonstrate the efficacy of clinical trials in elderly persons to examine the effects of statins on mortality and cardiovascular events.
