NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Use of statins at moderate doses appears to significantly reduce the risk of death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and influenza, new research suggests.

An unchecked immune response to infection is thought to be a key contributor to fatal cases of these diseases. Given numerous reports showing antiinflammatory and immunomodulating effects for statins, it is possible that treatment with these drug could cut COPD and influenza mortality.

Dr. Floyd J. Frost, from the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and colleagues assessed the survival benefits of statin therapy for COPD and influenza by conducting a matched cohort study of 76,232 subjects and two separate case control studies involving 207 COPD and 397 influenza deaths.

The new findings appear in the April issue of Chest.

In the cohort study, statin use, at a dose of at least 4 mg/day, cut the risk of death from influenza/pneumonia and COPD by 40% and 83%, respectively. The findings from the case-control studies confirmed a survival benefit with statin therapy.

The new findings "are in general agreement with prior studies," the authors state. "Since the reductions (in mortality) were observed in both the cohort and case-control studies, it is unlikely they could be due to artifacts of either study design of the analysis."

In future studies, it will be important to determine if statins offer any protection against death from avian influenza since at present no agents have shown this benefit, the authors conclude.