Statin use and functional response to multicomponent exercise in acutely hospitalized older adults: secondary analysis of a randomized trial

Purpose This study investigated whether statin use modulates the functional benefits of a multicomponent exercise program during acute hospitalization in patients aged > 75 years.Methods We conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (NCT02300896) involving 310 participants (average age 87 years, 58.7% women). The intervention group received supervised exercise, whereas the control group received standard care. The primary outcome was change in the Barthel Index (BI).Results Overall, exercise improved functional outcomes, regardless of statin use. Although exploratory adjusted models suggested a potentially greater Barthel Index improvement in statin users compared to non-users (mean difference 5.58 points; 95% CI 0.44 to 10.7; p = 0.035), this finding should be interpreted with caution. No statin-related adverse muscle events were observed during the intervention.Conclusions Exercise interventions confer functional benefits during acute hospitalization regardless of statin use. While statin users exhibited greater improvement in Barthel Index scores, this exploratory finding requires cautious interpretation. Overall, these results reinforce the safety of maintaining statins in acutely ill older adults and support the implementation of exercise programs.