Relationship of statins and other cholesterol-lowering medications and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the US elderly

AbstractObjective: Statins are commonly prescribed drugs that have been inconsistently associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk. We examined associations between ALS risk and overall statin use, statin categories based on lipophilicity and other cholesterol-lowering medications, in Medicare beneficiaries.Methods: In this nation-wide population-based case-control study, 10,450 Medicare participants (ages 66–89 years) diagnosed with ALS, using Medicare Parts A and B claims, between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2014, were frequency-matched to 104,500 controls on age, sex, and selection year. Odds ratios (ORs) for the association between statins and ALS were estimated using logistic regression models. Covariates included dyslipidemia, other comorbidities, age, sex, race, proxies for smoking and obesity, Medicare use, and indicators of socioeconomic status. Statin use derived from Medicare Part D claims. Non–statin cholesterol–lowering drugs were evaluated as comparison drugs.Results: ALS ris...