Could Statins Be Protective Against H1N1 Flu?

In a retrospective study, it's a definite maybe:

Of the patients studied, 801 were taking statins anyway and continued taking them while hospitalized. Seventeen patients who were taking statins died while in the hospital or within a month afterward, compared to 64 who were not taking statins, Vandermeer said.

Overall, 2.1 percent of patients taking statins died, compared to 3.2 percent of patients not taking statins. That means patients taking statins were just under 50 percent less likely to die.

Turns out this is from a press release regarding reports being presented this weekend at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) in Philadelphia, so while the data are intriguing, they are by no means conclusive.

-Wes