STAREE Trial: Atorvastatin Cuts Major Cardiovascular Events by 30% in Adults 70+ Without Known CVD but Misses Disability-Free Survival Endpoint at ESC 2026
The STAREE trial (a double-blind Australian primary-prevention trial in adults 70 and older) presented Saturday August 29, 2026 at ESC Congress 2026 Munich and simultaneously published in NEJM showed atorvastatin 40 mg daily reduced major cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or coronary revascularization) by approximately 30% versus placebo over 5.9 years median follow-up in 9,971 participants (mean age 74.7, 52% women). The co-primary endpoint of disability-free survival (survival free of dementia and physical disability) did not reach statistical significance. Muscle, liver, and diabetes-related adverse events were more common on atorvastatin, though serious adverse events were balanced. STAREE addresses a long-standing evidence gap on statin efficacy in older adults without known cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or dementia. Not a peptide, but the trial matters for peptide-industry readers because it reframes the primary-prevention benefit-risk calculus that will need to be modeled for cardiovascular outcome trials of peptide obesity therapies in older populations.