Impact of prior statin use on clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients: data from tertiary referral hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

Abstract Background Epidemiological evidence suggests that anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of statins may reduce the risk of infections and infection-related complications. Objective We aimed to assess the impact of prior statin use on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) severity and mortality. Methods In this observational multicenter study, consecutive patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were enrolled. In-hospital mortality and severity of COVID-19 assessed with National Early Warning Score (NEWS) were deemed primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to obtain balanced cohorts. Results Among 842 patients enrolled, 179 (21%) were treated with statins before admission. Statin patients showed more comorbidities and more severe COVID-19 (NEWS 4 [IQR 2–6] vs 3 [IQR 2–5], p  Conclusions Our results did not confirm the supposed favorable effects of statin therapy on COVID-19 outcomes. Conversely, they suggest that statin use should be considered as a proxy of underlying comorbidities, which indeed expose to increased risks of more severe COVID-19.