Objective To determine whether statins has some effects on the treatment of cardio-cerebral vascular diseases or hyperlipdemia increases bone mineral density （BMD）. Methods One hundred and sixty-two patients aged over 60 were identified in the outpatient-department of Geriatrics of West China Hospital from Jan. 1998 to Aug. 2003. Seventy cases were exposed to statins with follow-up for 5 years. BMD of the spine, femoral neck, femoral wards triangle and femoral trochanter was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The multiple regression analysis was used to exclude potential confounders, e.g. age, BMI, comorbidity,etc. Results Those elderly patients with a history of taking statins had higher BMD, such as femoral neck with t =-2. 466 （P =0. 015）, femoral wards triangle with t =-2. 483 （P = 0. 014 ）and femoral trochanter with t =-2. 743 （P =0. 007 ）than the control elderly at the end of follow-up. Conclusions It has been found that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors （statins ） may prevent bone loss in elderly patients by increasing BMD. Further prospective studies of statins are needed to confirm these observatioris.
