Association of statin and its lipophilicity with cardiovascular events in patients receiving chronic dialysis.

Lipophilicity of statins has been linked to extrahepatic cell penetration and inhibition of isoprenoid synthesis and coenzyme Q10, which may affect myocardial contraction. Whether statins' lipophilicity affects the risk of cardiovascular disease development in patients under dialysis is unclear. This population-based study included 114,929 patients undergoing chronic dialysis, retrieved from the Registry for Catastrophic Illness Patients from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan from 2000 to 2013. Statins were initiated after dialysis and classified into hydrophilic and lipophilic by the duration of use. In total, 17,015 statin users and match controls were identified by using propensity score matching in 1:1 ratio. New statin use was associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.13-1.28) but lower all-cause mortality (aHR: 0.93, 95% CI, 0.89-0.96). Hydrophilic statins were significantly associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with lipophilic statins (aHR: 0.91, 95% CI, 0.85-0.97).