Is it Time to Enhance Assessment of Alcohol Intake in Patients Slated for Statin Therapy?

Use of statins significantly lowers low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, resulting in substantial reduction in cardiovascular event rates. Despite this great achievement, cardiovascular risk remains high, especially among the elderly (>65 years) and those with conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease. It is thus crucial to identify variables that modulate effectiveness and efficacy of statin therapy. Alcohol, a common dietary component, is widely consumed at varying amounts and often concomitantly with statin therapy. Since moderate alcohol consumption is associated with cardiovascular benefits while heavy intake increases risk for ill health, it is possible that moderate alcohol may enhance benefits from statins while heavy alcohol could diminish or even abrogate such benefits. Whether this is true remains unknown. In this commentary we present pathways through which alcohol may impact use and response to statins and suggest that enhancing screening for alcohol abuse among patients slated for statin therapy may improve therapeutic outcomes.