Statin Use Associated With Reduced Surgery Risk in Moderate to Severe IBD
Statin therapy was associated with a significantly lower risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)–related surgery in patients with moderate to severe disease, according to a large retrospective cohort study using real-world electronic health record data.
Investigators analyzed data from the Mount Sinai Data Warehouse, identifying 2421 patients with moderate to severe IBD who had longitudinal outpatient follow-up between 2000 and 2023. Of these, 375 patients were statin users and 2046 were nonusers. All patients had at least 2 outpatient visits and were receiving biologic, small-molecule, or immunomodulator therapy for IBD.
Statin users experienced fewer IBD-related surgeries compared with nonusers (5% vs 9%; P = .007). Over 16,149 patient-years of follow-up, statin use was associated with a significantly lower hazard of surgery, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.47. Propensity score-adjusted analyses confirmed these findings, showing a reduced odds of IBD-related surgery among statin users (adjusted OR, 0.51).
By contrast, statin use was not significantly associated with reduced IBD-related hospitalization or differences in advanced therapy persistence. Although statin users had numerically fewer hospitalizations per person, the difference did not reach statistical significance. The authors noted that “statin users had fewer IBD-related surgeries,” while hospitalization risk remained similar between groups.
The study was designed to address whether statins, which may have anti-inflammatory properties, influence disease progression in established IBD. According to the authors, the primary outcome demonstrated that “patients with moderate-severe IBD using statins were less likely to experience IBD-related surgery” in this real-world cohort.
The study suggests that commonly prescribed cardiovascular medications may exert clinically meaningful effects on immune-mediated disease outcomes. While the findings do not establish causality, they support further investigation into statins as potential adjunctive agents in IBD management. Prospective studies will be needed to clarify mechanisms, optimal patient selection, and whether statin therapy could be leveraged intentionally to modify long-term disease course.
Reference
Claytor JD, Rajauria P, Peraza J, Colombel JF, Ungaro RC. Statin use is associated with lower odds of IBD-related surgery among patients with moderate-to-severe inflammatory bowel disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis. Published online December 19, 2025. doi:10.1093/ibd/izaf227
