Kaplan DE, et al. - In a large national cohort of patients with cirrhosis, researchers studied the independent effects of hyperlipidemia and statin exposure on mortality, hepatic decompensation, and hepatocellular carcinoma development. Participants in the study included patients with newly diagnosed cirrhosis in the Veterans Health Administration from January 1, 2008, to June 30, 2016. Hypercholesterolemia was linked to well-preserved hepatic function and decreased mortality in a retrospective cohort study of veterans with a new diagnosis of cirrhosis. However, each cumulative year of statin exposure was associated with an independent 8.0% to 8.7% decrease in mortality among Child-Turcotte-Pugh Class A and B patients with cirrhosis.