COMMENT:

Was this controlled for lipid levels? Because if it wasn't, there's a
problem. The usual caveats about post-hoc associational epidemiology
apply. Association is not causation. This does NOT necessarily mean
that statins protect against pneumonia death. It may very well be that
(instead) high LDL levels do, and taking statins is simply a marker for
people with lipid problems.

LDL does have functions in the body other than to give people heart
disease :). Among other things, there's some evidence that bacterial
endotoxins are absorbed and inactivated by LDL.

In the gigantic China Study, the largest study of blood predictors of
disease and actual disease and death statistics ever done, there's an
impressive correlation between very low LDL levels and risk of death
from pneumonia. You don't get any extra protection from heart disease
with TOTAL cholesterol going from 125 (which was the mean for rural
Chinese) to 90 (which was at the lower end of their spectrum. But your
risk of dying of pneumonia does go up a lot.

In any case, statin users probably still have higher LDL levels than
the general population. We may have found a place where that actually
does them some good.

SBH

It would be interesting to see how this study was 'spun' given the well
established adverse effect of statins: suppression of the immune system.

The Cholesterol-lowering Statin Drug Names: Lipitor, Crestor,
Mevacor,Pravachol,Zocor, Lescol, and Baycol, aka atorvastatin, rosuvastatin,
cerivastatin,fluvastatin,lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin; This
class of drugs is also knownas HMG-CoAReductase Inhibitors, short for
3-Hydroxy-3-Methyl-Glutaryl Coenzyme AReductase.Now, there is also a
combination drug, Vytorin, with both Zetia (Ezetimibe)and Zocor
(simvistatin).The adverse effects of this class of drugs, specific to nerve
damage isbelow.  For a full FAQ of statin adverse effects, including
muscle,cognitive, ED, and other adverse effects of statins, see:

http://www.freewebs.com/stopped_our_statins/StatinFAQ_031305wTOCv4.pdf
IMMUNE SYSTEM AND STATINS
Frequently Asked Question: Can statins depress my immune system?

It is a tribute to the imaginations of the drug marketers to see how
successfully they have put positive "spin" on a very alarming proposition,
that statins depress the immune system (or is it just arrogance?). If the
known side effect of statins is to depress your immune system, and it is so
beneficial to transplant recipients and others with autoimmune disease, what
about people with pre-statin 'normal' immune systems?

I'm not the only one astonished and disgusted with this, check out Dr.
Mercola's comment (scroll down for his response to the article) on
http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/24/statins.htm

Excerpts: "This is an amazing example of positive "spin" put on a very
negative result. People with high cholesterol certainly don't need their
immune systems suppressed...If suppressing the helper T cells is considered
such great benefit then there is a disease going around that does this quite
well - AIDS...if the mechanism of action of the drug is not understood, how
can the manufacturer or the FDA claim that it is safe"

It sounds like he is talking about this article

http://pub.ucsf.edu/today/print.php?news_id=200211062 , but actually he is
describing the last time the drug companies tried to feed us a myth about
how great it is that statins depress immune systems: (available for online
purchase from Nature Medicine:

http://www.nature.com/dynasearch/app/dynasearch.taf?sp-w=Exact&_action=search&se
arch_fulltext=&sp-p=All&search_volume=&search_startpage=&search_title=&search_au
thor=&search_abstract=statins+as+immunosuppressors&issue_start_month=12&issue_st
art_year=2000&issue_end_month=01&issue_end_year=2001&pickerCount=You+have+select
ed+1+journal+to+search.&rolloverMessage=&sp_k=NM

Atorvastatin suppresses interferon-gamma -induced neopterin formation and
tryptophan degradation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in
monocytic cell lines.

Neurauter G, Wirleitner B, Laich A, Schennach H, Weiss G, Fuchs D.

Summary: Recent findings indicate that statins also have anti-inflammatory
properties and can modulate the immune response.statins inhibit T cell
activation within the cellular immune response.atorvastatin directly
inhibits IFN-gamma-mediated pathways in monocytic cells, suggesting that
both immunoreactivity of T cells and of monocyte-derived macrophages are
down-regulated by this statin.

Clin Exp Immunol 2003 Feb;131(2):264-7

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1
2562386&dopt=Abstract

A novel anti-inflammatory role for simvastatin in inflammatory arthritis.

Leung BP, Sattar N, Crilly A, Prach M, McCarey DW, Payne H, Madhok R,
Campbell C, Gracie JA, Liew FY, McInnes IB.

J Immunol. 2003 Feb 1;170(3):1524-30.

PMID: 12538717 [PubMed - in process]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1
2538717&dopt=Abstract

Immunomodulation: a new role for statins?

Wulf Palinski

SUMMARY: Statins reduce the expression of the class II major
histocompatibility complex (MHCII) by arterial cells, leading to a decreased
T-cell response. This indicates that statins...

Nature Medicine6, 1311 - 1312 (01 Dec 2000) News and Views

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors as immunomodulators: potential use in
transplant rejection.

Raggatt LJ, Partridge NC.

These findings suggest that statins have the potential to regulate an immune
response in vivo and that more investigation is essential in order to
explain the opposing clinical data.

Drugs. 2002;62(15):2185-91.

PMID: 12381218 [PubMed - in process]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1
2381218&dopt=Abstract

Statins as a newly recognized type of immunomodulator

Brenda Kwak, Flore Mulhaupt, Samir Myit, François Mach

SUMMARY: Inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA)
reductase, or statins, are effective lipid-lowering agents, extensively used
in medical practice. Statins have never been shown to...

Nature Medicine 6, 1399 - 1402 (01 Dec 2000) Article

Could a depressed immune system lead to infection? See:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1
1936540&dopt=Abstract

Statin-induced fibrotic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.

Eur Respir J. 2002 Mar;19(3):577-80.

PMID: 11936540 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]