Inflamm Bowel Dis

Do statins lower risk of IBD-related hospitalization, surgery?

May 5, 2025

Study details: This nationwide cohort study analyzed data from Swedish healthcare registers between 2006 and 2020, including 19,788 adults with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 12,582 with Crohn's disease (CD). Researchers identified 1,733 UC and 962 CD patients as incident statin users post-diagnosis. Using 1:1 propensity score matching, they compared statin users with non-users to assess risks of IBD-related surgery, hospitalizations, and disease flares.

Results: Statin use was associated with a reduced risk of IBD-related surgery in both UC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.31-0.97) and CD (aHR 0.54, 95% CI 0.33-0.88). In UC patients, statin use was associated with reduced risks of hospitalizations (aHR 0.68, 95% CI 0.51-0.91) and disease flares (aHR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77-0.97). However, reductions in hospitalizations and flares weren’t observed in CD patients. The number needed to treat to prevent one IBD-related surgical event per year was 345 for UC and 161 for CD.

Clinical impact: Statins may have a beneficial role in managing IBD, potentially reducing the need for surgery, hospitalizations, and disease flares in UC patients. This findings support consideration of statins as an adjunctive therapy in IBD management, potentially influencing clinical guidelines and patient care strategies.

Source:

Khalili H, et al. (2025, April 25). Inflamm Bowel Dis. Statin Use is Associated with a Less Severe Disease Course In Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Nationwide Cohort Study 2006-2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40279326/