Do statins interfere with the vaccine against the flu?

Do statins interfere with the vaccine against the flu? - Statins are powerful, unusual, and as He Niño and Tom Cruise, it is not well understood. Statins have enormous potential. Improve survival after a heart attack and reduce the risk of recurrent stroke.  

They are also the only drugs to lower cholesterol that has been clearly shown to reduce heart attacks and death in high-risk patients without heart disease. In addition to lowering cholesterol, statins also lower levels of inflammation in the body.  

Reduce inflammation, statins help probably prevent heart attacks and strokes. However, evidence is emerging that these effects statins may also have a downside, hampering the ability of the immune system to fight infections.

Tease the relationship between statins and immune response 

Two recent studies have examined the relationship between statins and immune response to the vaccine against influenza. For the first study, Emory University researchers analyzed a large database of patients in a managed care organization to see if there was a link between the use of statins, vaccination against influenza, and frequency of visits to doctors for influenza-like illness.  

They found that patients who received the vaccine against influenza were more likely to seek treatment for a respiratory illness during flu season if they were also taking a statin, compared with patients who received the vaccine against influenza but they not take statins.  

This suggests that patients treated with statins may not have responded so well to the vaccine against influenza than those not taking the drug to lower cholesterol.

The other study provides concrete evidence of the lowest immunization against influenza in people taking statins immune response. For this study, researchers analyzed data from over 5000 patients in a clinical trial of a new vaccine against influenza. They found that levels of antibodies against the flu virus were lower in patients taking statins compared to patients not taking statins.

Both studies were a major constraint. Patients taking statins were more likely to have serious underlying diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, COPD, neurological disorders, or kidney disease, compared with patients not taking statins.  

Thus, the poor response to the vaccine against influenza and the apparent increased risk of influenza statins in patients with the disease could have been the result of its high burden of chronic disease, and no treatment with statins. It should be noted that a randomized trial in young healthy volunteers showed no statin treatment effect in antibody responses to the vaccine against hepatitis A. 

There is also a bewildering variety of other research on statins and their effects on the human immune response. At various times, statins were associated with each of the following: a lower risk of dying from the flu; a lower risk of dying from the flu in some years but not others; a slightly increased risk of shingles (herpes zoster); a lower risk of pneumonia; neutral effect on the risk of pneumonia; and a lower risk of dying from pneumonia.

But do not leave your statin ...

According to current data, I do not think we need to change how we prescribe statins, which are extremely beneficial medications, but I need more information on how statins influence the risk of infection. Patients taking statins may consider getting a flu vaccine against high doses, resulting in higher levels of antibodies and increased protection against the flu, compared with standard-dose vaccine.  
By: John Ross MD,FIDSA