The Effect of Statins on Microalbuminuria, Proteinuria, Progression of Kidney Function, and All-cause Mortality in Patients with Non-end Stage Chronic Kidney Disease: A Meta-analysis

Conclusive evidence regarding the effect of statins on non-end stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been reported previously. This meta-analysis evaluated the association between statins and microalbuminuria, proteinuria, progression, and all-cause mortality in patients with non-end stage CKD. Databases (e.g., PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with data on statins, microalbuminuria, proteinuria, renal health endpoints, and all-cause mortality patients with non-end stage CKD to perform this meta-analysis. The mean difference (MD) of the urine albumin excretion ratios (UAER), 24-h urine protein excretion, and risk ratios (RR) of all-cause mortality and renal health endpoints were calculated, and the results are presented with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 23 RCTs with 39,419 participants were selected. The analysis demonstrated that statins statistically reduced UAER to 26.73 μg/min [95%CI (-51.04, -2.43), Z=2.16, P<0.05], 24-h urine protein excretion to 682.68 mg [95%CI (-886.72, -478.63), Z=6.56, P<0.01] and decreased all-cause mortality [RR=0.78, 95%CI (0.72, 0.84), Z=6.08, P<0.01]. However, the analysis results did not indicate that statins reduced the events of renal health endpoints [RR=0.96, 95%CI (0.91,1.01), Z=1.40, P>0.05]. In summary, our study indicates that statins statistically reduced microalbuminuria, proteinuria, and clinical deaths, but statins did not effectively slow the clinical progression of non-end stage CKD.