• Alessandro Pezzini, Mario Grassi, Licia Iacoviello, Marialuisa Zedde, Simona Marcheselli, Giorgio Silvestrelli, Maria Luisa DeLodovici, Maria Sessa, Andrea Zini, Maurizio Paciaroni, Cristiano Azzini, Massimo Gamba, Massimo Del Sette, Antonella Toriello, Carlo Gandolfo, Domenico Marco Bonifati, Rossana Tassi, Anna Cavallini, Alberto Chiti, Rocco Salvatore Calabrò, Rossella Musolino, Paolo Bovi, Giampaolo Tomelleri, Augusto Di Castelnuovo, Laura Vandelli, Marco Ritelli, Giancarlo Agnelli, Alessandro De Vito, Nicola Pugliese, Giuseppe Martini, Alessia Lanari, Alfonso Ciccone, Corrado Lodigiani, Giovanni Malferrari, Elisabetta Del Zotto, Andrea Morotti, Paolo Costa, Loris Poli, Valeria De Giuli, Silvia Bonaiti, Paolo La Spina, Norina Marcello, Giuseppe Micieli, Giovanni de Gaetano, Marina Colombi, Alessandro Padovani, and Multicenter Study on Cerebral Haemorrhage in Italy (MUCH-Italy) Investigators.
• Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e Sperimentali, Clinica Neurologica, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italia.
• J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. 2016 Sep 1; 87 (9): 924-9.

ObjectiveAlthough a concern exists that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) might increase the risk of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), the contribution of these agents to the relationship between serum cholesterol and disease occurrence has been poorly investigated.MethodsWe compared consecutive patients having ICH with age and sex-matched stroke-free control subjects in a case-control analysis, as part of the Multicenter Study on Cerebral Haemorrhage in Italy (MUCH-Italy), and tested the presence of interaction effects between total serum cholesterol levels and statins on the risk of ICH.ResultsA total of 3492 cases (mean age, 73.0±12.7 years; males, 56.6%) and 3492 control subjects were enrolled. Increasing total serum cholesterol levels were confirmed to be inversely associated with ICH. We observed a statistical interaction between total serum cholesterol levels and statin use for the risk of haemorrhage (Interaction OR (IOR), 1.09; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.12). Increasing levels of total serum cholesterol were associated with a decreased risk of ICH within statin strata (average OR, 0.87; 95% CI 0.86 to 0.88 for every increase of 0.26 mmol/l of total serum cholesterol concentrations), while statin use was associated with an increased risk (OR, 1.54; 95% CI 1.31 to 1.81 of the average level of total serum cholesterol). The protective effect of serum cholesterol against ICH was reduced by statins in strictly lobar brain regions more than in non-lobar ones.ConclusionsStatin therapy and total serum cholesterol levels exhibit interaction effects towards the risk of ICH. The magnitude of such effects appears higher in lobar brain regions.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

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