Statins and fibrates may reduce stroke incidence by about 30 per cent in older people, according to researchers who enrolled 7,484 people (63 per cent of whom were women) aged 65 years and over (mean 73.9 years) from three French cities.

No patient had a history of vascular events at enrolment but during a mean follow-up of 9.1 years, people using lipid lowering drugs were 33 per cent less likely to experience a stroke compared with non-users. Both statins (32 per cent reduction) and fibrates (34 per cent reduction) were associated with a lower stroke incidence.

Taking lipid-lowering drugs did not influence the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease. Allowing for several factors – including age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, and systolic blood pressure and triglyceride concentrations – did not alter the effect of lipidlowering drugs on either stroke or coronary heart disease. (BMJ 2015; 350:h2335)