The Impact of Age on Statin-Related Glycemia: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study in Korea

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of statin on glycemic control in different age groups. Patients admitted for suspected or confirmed coronary artery disease between January 2005 and December 2013 in Seoul, Korea were initially enrolled. After propensity score matching, 2654 patients (1:1 statin users and non-users) were selected out of total 5041 patients, including 1477 “young” patients (≤60 y) and 1177 elderly patients (>60 y). HbA1c was decreased by 0.04% (±0.86%) in statin non-users. On the contrary, a slight increment of 0.05% (±0.71%) was found in statin users (p < 0.001). The change patterns of HbA1c were constant in both young and elderly patient groups. Furthermore, elderly statin users demonstrated significantly worse glycemic control in serum insulin and homeostatic model assessment—insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index. In elderly patients, statin users were found to have a 2.61 ± 8.34 µU/mL increment in serum insulin, whereas it was 2.35 ± 6.72 µU/mL for non-users (p = 0.012). Statin users had a 0.78 ± 3.28 increment in HOMA-IR, in contrast to the 0.67 ± 2.51 increment in statin non-users (p = 0.008). In conclusion, statin treatment was associated with adverse glycemic control in the elderly population.