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Statins linked to more hospitalizations in dementia
Among nursing home residents with dementia, statin use was associated with slightly higher hospitalization risk for heart or stroke-related events.
*Retrospective cohort study; Level 2b (OCEBM).

Citation

Lech S, Kohl R, O’Sullivan JL, Thevathasan T, Schuster J, Kuhlmey A, Gellert P, Yasar S. Statin Use Is Not Associated With Reduced Cardio- and Cerebrovascular Hospitalizations in Older Adults With Dementia. Stroke. 2026;57:404–414. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.125.051157

Background

Statins reduce heart and stroke events in many adults, but benefits in people with dementia are uncertain, especially in nursing homes. This study compared statin users and nonusers with similar health profiles.

Patients

German nursing home residents (n=96,162): 58,900 with dementia; 37,262 without dementia.

Intervention

Statin use during the year before follow-up (including dose groups and newly started use).

Control

No statin use.

Outcome

Hospitalization for heart or stroke-related events (primary). Hemorrhagic stroke hospitalization (secondary).

Follow-up Period

Mean 2.3 years (dementia) and 2.0 years (no dementia); data from 2015–2019.

Results

Population (matched comparison) Significant finding Hazard ratio (95% confidence interval)
Dementia: statin vs no statin (primary) Higher hospitalization risk 1.06 (1.01–1.12)
Dementia: moderate-dose statin vs no statin (primary) Higher hospitalization risk 1.15 (1.07–1.23)
Dementia: high-dose statin vs no statin (primary) Higher hospitalization risk 1.55 (1.15–2.10)
Dementia without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (primary) Higher hospitalization risk 1.30 (1.12–1.52)
Dementia, newly started statin vs no statin (primary) Higher hospitalization risk 2.71 (2.33–3.15)
No dementia: high-dose statin vs no statin (primary) Higher hospitalization risk 1.51 (1.04–2.19)
No dementia: newly started statin vs no statin (primary) Higher hospitalization risk 1.99 (1.56–2.52)
No dementia: statin vs no statin (hemorrhagic stroke hospitalization) Lower hospitalization risk 0.68 (0.47–0.97)
Statin users and nonusers were matched; analyses accounted for deaths during follow-up.

Limitations

Observational claims data; dementia severity unknown; residual confounding and reverse causation likely (especially new starts); hospitalizations may reflect care practices, not biology.

Funding

Stiftung Charité/Berlin Institute of Health grant; no disclosed conflicts.

Clinical Application

For nursing home patients with dementia, do not expect fewer vascular hospitalizations from statins; reconsider new starts and discuss goals of care and overall risks.

Top Journal Rankings - March 2026

11 abstracts scored across 7 criteria. Click any article to expand criterion scores.
1. 6.0
The Park RX RCT: Impact on Physical Activity Among Youth.
Overall: A reasonably well-conducted, primary-care–applicable RCT showing a small objective increase in youth activity but no cardiometabolic changes, making it feasible to implement yet only modestly compelling for practice change.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 8.5
Conducted in an outpatient federally qualified health center with clinician-delivered “prescriptions” during routine visits, addressing low physical activity in youth—an issue relevant to generalist outpatient care.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 7.5
Randomized controlled trial with intent-to-treat analysis and a relatively large sample (n=514) plus objective accelerometry; however, the abstract provides limited detail on allocation concealment, blinding, and attrition, and precision is reported as SEs rather than CIs.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 4.0
Primary outcome is accelerometry-measured minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (behavioral/intermediate), with BMI and blood pressure reported but unchanged; no direct clinical events, function, or quality-of-life outcomes are shown.
Magnitude of Net Benefit 3.5
The improvement in activity is statistically significant but small (~2 minutes/day) and not accompanied by changes in BMI or blood pressure; harms are not described and burden appears low, but the demonstrated clinical benefit is modest.
Implementability & Practicality 8.0
Park prescriptions integrated into usual clinic visits are likely low-cost and scalable; practical impact may depend on local park access and requires repeated counseling/prescribing roughly every 3 months.
Practice-Changing Potential 4.5
While feasible and relevant, the effect size is small, benefits appear concentrated in subgroups (boys and ages 11–16), and the abstract itself calls for replication before wide adoption.
2. 5.8
Association Between Concussion and Risk of Suicide Among Youth and Young Adults.
Overall: A large observational Medicaid cohort links youth concussion to a higher subsequent suicide hazard using hard outcomes, but residual confounding and a small absolute risk difference limit immediate, concrete changes to practice.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 8.0
Concussion in youth/young adults is commonly encountered in outpatient and urgent/primary care pathways, and the findings could inform follow-up counseling and risk assessment.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 6.0
Large, population-based longitudinal cohort with linkage to death certificates and use of inverse probability weighting, but it remains nonrandomized claims-based research with potential residual confounding and relatively few suicide events.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 9.0
The main outcome is suicide death, a clearly patient-important hard endpoint.
Magnitude of Net Benefit 3.0
This is an association study (not an intervention), and although the relative hazard increase is notable, the absolute 5-year risk difference reported is very small (0.034%), limiting immediate clinical impact.
Implementability & Practicality 4.0
The abstract suggests targeted suicide prevention after concussion but does not evaluate a specific, actionable strategy or workflow, making translation into practice less direct.
Practice-Changing Potential 5.0
May increase clinician vigilance about mental health/suicide risk after concussion, but the observational design and small absolute risk make it more hypothesis-generating than definitively practice-changing.
3. 5.8
Systematic Review of Dementia Risk Screening Tools in Primary Care Settings.
Overall: A preregistered, primary-care–focused systematic review that credibly summarizes dementia risk tools and identifies promising options, but it primarily reports prediction metrics and generalizability limits rather than demonstrating patient outcome benefits or clear net benefit from screening.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 9.0
Explicitly targets dementia risk screening methods intended for primary care and community-dwelling adults, aligning with common generalist preventive-care decisions.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 7.5
Preregistered systematic review with multi-database searches, updated through 2024, and formal risk-of-bias tools; however, tool performance varies and generalizability is limited when applied to different populations, with limited precision details (e.g., few confidence intervals reported).
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 2.0
Focuses on predictive performance (e.g., C-statistics) and feasibility/acceptability rather than downstream patient outcomes such as reduced dementia incidence, improved function, or quality of life.
Magnitude of Net Benefit 3.0
Reports discrimination ranging from poor to good (C-statistics 0.52–0.86) and notes poorer performance outside derivation samples; the abstract does not quantify clinical benefit or harms of screening, so net benefit remains uncertain.
Implementability & Practicality 6.5
Evaluates feasibility and acceptability for primary care and identifies specific tools to use by age group, but practical workflow details (time, training, costs, follow-up actions) are not well specified in the abstract.
Practice-Changing Potential 6.5
Provides actionable recommendations (e.g., CAIDE and LIBRA for certain age ranges) that could influence screening discussions, yet limited external validation and lack of demonstrated patient benefit temper immediate practice change.
4. 5.2
The impact of frequent interruptions to sedentary behavior on postprandial metabolism in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Overall: A reasonably conducted meta-analysis of small RCTs suggests modest improvements in post-meal glucose/insulin spikes from breaking up sitting time, but reliance on surrogate outcomes and limited demonstrated net clinical benefit constrain impact on primary-care practice.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 6.0
Addresses a common lifestyle target (sedentary behavior) that primary-care clinicians counsel on, but the evidence is limited to healthy adults and focuses on short-term postprandial physiology rather than clinical risk groups.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 7.0
Systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of randomized trials with formal risk-of-bias (RoB2) and GRADE assessment; however, the total sample is small (337 across 17 trials) and effects are reported mainly as SMDs, limiting precision and interpretability.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 2.0
Outcomes are entirely surrogate metabolic measures (postprandial glucose/insulin/triglyceride AUCs) with no reported patient-important endpoints (e.g., diabetes incidence, cardiovascular events, symptoms, quality of life).
Magnitude of Net Benefit 4.0
Shows modest improvements in incremental glucose and insulin (SMD about -0.35 to -0.37) and no significant effects on several other metabolic exposures, making overall clinical benefit uncertain; harms are not described, and behavior-change burden may be nontrivial.
Implementability & Practicality 8.0
Interrupting sitting time is low-cost and does not require specialized equipment or medications, making it broadly feasible to recommend in routine outpatient care.
Practice-Changing Potential 4.0
The findings may support reinforcing existing advice to move more, but because benefits are limited to short-term surrogate changes and not linked to patient outcomes, it is unlikely to change standard practice on its own.
5. 5.0
Co-administration of recombinant zoster vaccine with other recommended vaccines among older adults in the United States of America.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 8.0
Addresses adult vaccination workflow (co-administration of shingles vaccine with other routine vaccines) in adults ≥50, a common primary-care/pharmacy preventive-care decision.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 5.0
Very large administrative-claims cohort with multivariable regression, but retrospective/nonrandomized design is vulnerable to confounding and selection bias; the abstract provides no confidence intervals or effect sizes for key associations.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 3.0
Main outcomes are series completion and dosing-schedule adherence (process measures), not direct clinical outcomes such as herpes zoster incidence, complications, or adverse events.
Magnitude of Net Benefit 3.0
Reports that co-administration is associated with lower odds of completion/adherence, but does not quantify absolute effects, assess clinical outcomes, or report harms/burdens—so net benefit is unclear.
Implementability & Practicality 7.0
Co-administration of vaccines is operationally feasible in routine outpatient care and pharmacies; findings may help target settings/regions, though implementation barriers are not directly tested.
Practice-Changing Potential 4.0
Observational associations may inform quality improvement, but without causal evidence or demonstrated improvement in patient outcomes, it is unlikely to change vaccine co-administration guidance on its own.
6. 4.9
The dual risk profile of site-specific cancers in vitiligo: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Overall: A reasonably precise meta-analysis of observational studies suggests vitiligo is associated with higher thyroid cancer risk but lower risk of several other cancers; however, lack of absolute risks and absence of a tested surveillance strategy limit immediate clinical actionability.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 6.5
Vitiligo is commonly managed in outpatient settings, and cancer-risk counseling/surveillance questions can arise in general practice, but the abstract does not specify a primary-care population or concrete decision pathways.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 6.0
Systematic review/meta-analysis with multi-database searches and pooled RRs with 95% CIs, but included studies are not characterized (design/quality), and key risk-of-bias details and heterogeneity results are not reported in the abstract.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 8.0
Cancer incidence (overall and site-specific) is a patient-important outcome rather than a surrogate marker.
Magnitude of Net Benefit 2.5
Findings are associations (RRs) without absolute risks, and no intervention is tested; therefore, clinical benefit versus harms/burden of any added or reduced surveillance cannot be determined from the abstract.
Implementability & Practicality 3.0
The conclusion suggests “customized cancer surveillance,” but provides no actionable protocol (who to screen, how, how often), limiting direct implementability.
Practice-Changing Potential 3.5
The mixed risk profile (higher thyroid cancer risk; lower risk for several other cancers) is hypothesis-generating, but without absolute risk stratification or management guidance it is unlikely to change routine practice on its own.
7. 4.0
Everyday discrimination as a predictor of forgone care among early midlife adults in the United States.
Overall: A relevant longitudinal observational study linking everyday discrimination to forgone care, but limited by lack of reported effect size/precision and absence of an actionable, tested intervention or patient-health endpoints.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 7.0
Addresses a common primary-care problem (patients forgoing needed care) in a broadly relevant midlife US population, though it does not test a specific clinical decision or strategy.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 5.0
Uses a longitudinal, nationally representative panel with a lagged exposure and adjustment for several covariates, but remains observational with residual confounding likely and provides no sample size, effect sizes, or confidence intervals in the abstract.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 4.0
Outcome is forgone healthcare (a behavior/process measure) rather than direct morbidity, mortality, function, or quality of life.
Magnitude of Net Benefit 2.0
No intervention is evaluated and the abstract reports only a directional association without absolute or relative effect sizes, limiting assessment of clinical impact.
Implementability & Practicality 3.0
Findings may inform screening for social stressors, but the abstract does not provide a concrete, implementable intervention or workflow change.
Practice-Changing Potential 3.0
Highlights an important determinant of access, but without tested solutions or quantified effects, it is unlikely to change routine practice on its own.
8. 4.0
Healthcare and Nonhealthcare Costs: Youth With Diabetes and Food Insecurity.
Overall: A reasonably sized prospective observational study shows food insecurity is linked to higher self-reported annual costs in youth with diabetes, but without intervention testing or clinical outcomes it mainly informs awareness and policy rather than changing day-to-day care.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 6.0
Food insecurity screening and diabetes care are common outpatient/primary-care issues, but the population is limited to youth/young adults with type 1/2 diabetes and the study focuses on costs rather than clinical management decisions.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 6.0
Prospective cohort with a fairly large sample (n=1,256) and reported confidence intervals, but observational design with potential residual confounding and key measures (food insecurity, utilization/productivity costs) are self-reported.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 4.0
Outcomes are economic (acute care costs and productivity loss), which matter to patients and families, but there are no direct clinical endpoints (e.g., hypoglycemia, DKA, HbA1c-related complications, quality of life).
Magnitude of Net Benefit 1.0
The study reports associations between food insecurity and higher costs; it does not evaluate an intervention, so net benefit versus harms/burden cannot be determined from the abstract.
Implementability & Practicality 4.0
Measuring food insecurity is feasible using a survey module, but the abstract does not test or describe an actionable care pathway or specific implementable intervention to reduce insecurity or costs.
Practice-Changing Potential 3.0
Findings support the importance of addressing social needs and insurance continuity, but the observational nature and lack of tested interventions limit immediate, concrete practice changes.
9. 3.8
An RCT of Front-Of-Package Nutrition Labels in Latino Populations in the U.S.
Overall: A large online RCT found only a small, proficiency-dependent improvement in recognizing least healthy foods and no clear effect on healthier selection, limiting patient impact and immediate clinical practice implications.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 6.0
Nutrition choices are relevant to common primary-care counseling, but the intervention is a packaging-label policy rather than a direct clinical decision or primary-care workflow change.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 7.0
Large online randomized trial (n=3,053) with prespecified comparisons and p-values; however, outcomes are task-based in a simulated setting and the abstract provides limited detail on allocation concealment, blinding, or attrition.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 2.0
Outcomes are mainly surrogate/behavioral proxies (correct identification of healthiest/least healthy items and intended purchase selection) rather than measured dietary intake, clinical outcomes, or quality of life.
Magnitude of Net Benefit 3.0
Effects were small and inconsistent: a modest improvement in identifying the least healthy foods (49% vs 44%) but no improvement for identifying the healthiest foods or selecting the healthiest product for purchase, and benefit depended on English proficiency.
Implementability & Practicality 3.0
If adopted, labels are simple for consumers, but implementation depends on regulatory/industry action and is not something clinicians can readily deploy in routine practice based on this study.
Practice-Changing Potential 2.0
Findings suggest limited real-world impact (no improvement in healthiest selection) and subgroup-dependent benefit, making it unlikely to change clinical practice; it is more relevant to policy discussions than day-to-day care.
10. 3.5
Perceived Difficulty of Flavored Tobacco Purchase: Early Effects of a Statewide Flavor Policy Among Young People.
Overall: A nonrandomized pre/post policy evaluation shows modest increases in perceived purchase difficulty but largely surrogate outcomes and limited evidence of meaningful health impact or immediate clinical practice change.
View 6 Criterion Scores
Primary-Care Relevance & Applicability 5.0
Tobacco use is highly relevant to primary care, but the study evaluates a statewide retail policy and perceived purchasing difficulty rather than a clinical decision or care pathway directly actionable in clinic.
Validity, Bias Control & Precision 5.5
Uses a probability-based longitudinal cohort with pre/post measurement and a rest-of-U.S. comparison plus weighted GEE analyses, but it is nonrandomized, limited to ever-users, relies on self-report, and reports p-values without confidence intervals.
Patient-Oriented Outcomes 2.0
The outcome is perceived difficulty of purchase, which is an indirect proxy and not a patient-important health endpoint (e.g., cessation, initiation, symptoms, morbidity).
Magnitude of Net Benefit 2.5
Although odds of perceiving difficulty increased, most California respondents still reported flavored products were easy to buy post-policy, and the abstract does not show changes in tobacco use or harms.
Implementability & Practicality 3.0
Implications center on monitoring/enforcement of a statewide policy, which is not readily implementable by individual clinicians and requires regulatory infrastructure.
Practice-Changing Potential 3.0
Findings suggest incomplete policy effect and the need for enforcement, but do not provide direct evidence to change clinical management or counseling strategies beyond reinforcing existing tobacco control messaging.
Score Guide: 9-10 Exceptional 7-8 Strong 5-6 Moderate 3-4 Weak 1-2 Poor
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