Controversy persists about whether statins reduce risk of cardiovascular events entirely through their effects on cholesterol levels or whether other pathways, such as reductions in inflammation, are also relevant. In JUPITER, statin therapy was associated with an average reduction of 1.2 mmol per liter in concentration of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Based on average effects over multiple clinical trials (C. Baigent et al. [9]), it is estimated that each 1 mmol per liter reduction in LDL cholesterol is associated with a 20% reduction in risk of major cardiovascular events. Hence, the expected event rate due to LDL reduction would be

0.028 − .2(.028)(1.2) = .0213.

Assess whether the observed 2-year risk in the Jupiter study is consistent with this event rate at the 5% level. 

Cardiovascular Disease

Treatment with statins can reduce the risk of a major cardiovascular event in people with specified risk factors. During about 2 years of follow-up in the JUPITER trial (P. M. Ridker et al. [8]) , 142 of 8901 subjects treated with a statin had a major cardiovascular event.