Association of prestroke statin use and lipid levels with outcome of intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It is unclear whether blood lipid profiles and statin use before intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are associated with its outcome.

METHODS

The Helsinki ICH Study, a single-center observational registry of consecutive ICH patients, was used to study the associations between premorbid statin use, baseline lipid levels, and clinical outcome.

RESULTS

The registry includes 964 ICH patients. Statin users (n=187; 19%) were significantly older, had more frequent comorbidities and medication, lower lipid levels, and higher admission Glasgow Coma Scale compared with nonusers. Modified Rankin Scale at discharge or mortality did not differ between statin users and nonusers. Compared with survivors, significantly lower total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were observed in patients who died in hospital (median, 4.1 mmol/L [interquartile range, 3.6-4.4] versus 4.5 [3.8-5.1]; P<0.01; 1.9 mmol/L [1.4-2.5] versus 2.4 [1.8-3.0]; P<0.001, respectively), at 3 or 12 months. After adjusting for known ICH prognostic factors based on univariate analysis that is, age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Glasgow Coma Scale, ICH volume, and intraventricular location, lower low-density lipoprotein levels were independently associated with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.54 [95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.93]; P=0.028).

CONCLUSIONS

Premorbid statin use did not affect the outcome of ICH, but lower low-density lipoprotein levels were associated with higher in-hospital mortality.