You have learned here how metformin, ACE inhibitors like lisinopril, angiotensin receptor blockers like losartan, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists like eplerenone slow aging and delay chronic disease development. Statins have the same effect.
Telomeres are protective caps on the end of chromosomes that protect our DNA. As we age, our telomeres shorten, there is less protection for our genes, and cells die or stop dividing. Telomere shortening is part of the aging process. The rate of telomere shortening is a sort of biologic clock that is part of determining how long we live and how soon we develop chronic illness. Statins slow telomere shortening and extend healthy life.
In a study of American veterans 75 years old and older “The data suggested a 25% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 20% reduction in heart disease-related death for new users of statins compared with nonusers.
The researchers noted that the lower risk of death for new statin users remained significant even among veterans over 90 years old”
This effect of statins is most probably not related to cholesterol lowering. The most commonly mentioned contributor to accelerated telomere shortening is excess oxidant production. Statins are powerful antioxidants as are the other factors that slow aging and delay chronic illness. Combining these factors prolongs healthy life by 8 years in high-risk individuals.
We can slow aging and delay chronic illness now.
I have confirmed CAD, but I have been refusing statins for 15 years due to the outcome stats for women (Irvine study), my own gene marker for statin myopathy (23Me), a disturbingly high correlation with diabetes and possibly dementia, and the shared skepticism/resistance of well respected academic physicians such as JAMA lead Rita Redberg. I have felt even better about that decision since this editorial of hers some years back. Your comments welcome: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/opinion/dont-give-more-patients-statins.html