Effect of Statins on Patients and Graft Survival in Kidney Transplant Recipients: a Survival Meta-analysis

Introduction. Modifying cardiovascular risk factors is very important for the patients after kidney transplantation. Statins are a potentially beneficial intervention for kidney transplant patients, and the effect of statins on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease varies according to the stages. This systematic review summarizes the potential beneficial effects of statins on kidney allograft outcome.
Materials and Methods. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted by literature search using the PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar. Articles published after 2000 reporting hazard ratios (HRs) for the effect of statins on patient and graft survival of kidney transplant patients were included.
Results. Seven articles were included in the systematic review, involving 1870 kidney transplant patients that received statins and 3339 kidney transplant patients as the control group. Statins has no protective effect on transplant rejection, graft survival or patient survival after kidney transplantation. The effect of statins on graft survival, however, was significant when adjusted for factors such as age, sex, and serum creatinine level (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.92; P = .003). Similarly, patient survival was significantly better with statin use (adjusted HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.88; P = .003).
Conclusions. The present study may provide valuable information on the potential beneficial effects of statins in kidney allograft recipients. Meta-analysis showed that the use of statins correlated independently with improved patient and graft survival after kidney transplantation.