- Question
- Does rosuvastatin reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in intermediate-risk, ethnically diverse persons without prior cardiovascular disease?
- Design
- One comparison from a 2-by-2 factorial, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (quadruple masking per the registry) enrolling 12705 participants in 21 countries, with a median follow-up of 5.6 years.
- Population
- Persons without cardiovascular disease at intermediate cardiovascular risk, from diverse ethnic groups, not selected for elevated lipid levels or inflammatory markers.
- Intervention
- Rosuvastatin 10 mg per day.
- Control
- Placebo.
- Primary outcome
- Two coprimary outcomes: the first was the composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke; the second additionally included revascularization, heart failure, and resuscitated cardiac arrest.
- Results
- The first coprimary outcome occurred in 235 participants (3.7%) on rosuvastatin and 304 (4.8%) on placebo (HR 0.76; 95% CI 0.64 to 0.91; P=0.002). The second occurred in 277 (4.4%) vs. 363 (5.7%) (HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.64 to 0.88; P<0.001). Mean LDL cholesterol was 26.5% lower with rosuvastatin.
- Safety
- There was no excess of diabetes or cancers with rosuvastatin, but there was more cataract surgery (3.8% vs. 3.1%; P=0.02) and more muscle symptoms (5.8% vs. 4.7%; P=0.005).
- Conclusion
- Rosuvastatin 10 mg per day significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular events versus placebo in an intermediate-risk, ethnically diverse population without cardiovascular disease.
- Why it matters
- It extended the benefit of statins in primary prevention to intermediate-risk, ethnically diverse persons without elevated lipid or inflammatory markers, broadening the population in which their use is considered.
Card generated automatically with AI from the abstract of the original publication and the trial registry; every figure was checked against those sources. It may contain errors: verify the data at the source before using it for clinical decisions.
Generated on October 14, 2026