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Meta-Analysis
. 2019 Mar;98(12):e14852.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014852.

Effect of statins on Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Junqiang Yan  1   2 , Liang Qiao  2 , Jing Tian  2 , Anran Liu  2 , Jiannan Wu  1 , Jiarui Huang  1 , Mengmeng Shen  1 , Xiaoyi Lai  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of statins on Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Junqiang Yan et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Statins have key lipid-lowering, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative effects. However, it remains unclear whether statins are beneficial to patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between statins and PD through a systematic review.

Methods: This study adhered to the guideline of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Potentially relevant case-control or cohort studies published before March 2018 were identified by searching the MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE (OVID), CENTRAL (Cochrane Library), CNKI, WANGANG, VIP, CBM, CMCC, Clinicaltrials.gov, ProQuest, Opengray, and ISI Proceedings databases and conducting a manual search. Summarized relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a fixed effect model. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were also performed.

Results: The meta-analysis included 17 studies (3,845,303 patients; 8 case-control and 9 cohort studies), including 5 articles not cited by other studies. We searched the Chinese database, but unfortunately, no Chinese literature can be included in the study. Briefly, statins could decrease the risk of PD, with a summary OR of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86-0.99). A sensitivity analysis demonstrated the robustness of the results. Subgroup analyses revealed heterogeneity across the studies in terms of subject race, study type, reporting style, quality, statins type, and time for taking statins.

Conclusion: Our study provides evidence that statins, especially atorvastatin, can reduce the risk of PD. Different time of statins using has different effects on PD. However, additional randomized controlled trials and observational studies are needed to confirm this conclusion.

Registration id: PROSPERO CRD: 42018095580.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA diagram of the selection process. PRISMA = Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot in overall analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Funnel plot (Publication bias).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Yan J, Xu Y, Zhu C, et al. Simvastatin prevents dopaminergic neurodegeneration in experimental parkinsonian models: the association with anti-inflammatory responses. PloS One 2011;6:e20945. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wood WG, Mΰller WE, Eckert GP. Statins and neuroprotection: basic pharmacology needed. Mol Neurobiol [Review] 2014;50:214–20. - PubMed

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