Rosuvastatin, Atorvastatin Have Comparable Efficacy for CAD

THURSDAY, Oct. 19, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Rosuvastatin and atorvastatin have comparable efficacy for a composite outcome in adults with coronary artery disease, according to a study published online Oct. 18 in The BMJ.

Yong-Joon Lee, M.D., from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues compared the long-term efficacy and safety of rosuvastatin with atorvastatin in 4,400 adults with coronary artery disease in a randomized trial conducted at 12 hospitals in South Korea. Participants were assigned to rosuvastatin or atorvastatin (2,204 and 2,196, respectively); 4,341 participants completed the trial.

The mean daily dose of study drugs was 17.1 and 36.0 mg in the rosuvastatin and atorvastatin groups, respectively, at three years. The researchers found that the primary outcome (three-year composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or any coronary revascularization) occurred in 8.7 and 8.2 percent of patients in the rosuvastatin and atorvastatin groups, respectively, which was not significantly different. The mean low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level during treatment was 1.8 and 1.9 mmol/L in the rosuvastatin and atorvastatin groups, respectively. The incidence of new-onset diabetes mellitus requiring initiation of antidiabetics and cataract surgery was significantly increased in the rosuvastatin group (hazard ratios, 1.39 and 1.66, respectively). There was no between-group difference noted in other safety end points.

"Rosuvastatin and atorvastatin treatment showed comparable efficacy in terms of the composite of all cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or any coronary revascularization within three years," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and medical device companies, including Sam Jin Pharmaceutical and Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical, which partially funded the study.

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