Statins reduce the risk of sepsis in people receiving dialysis, according to an article published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. People who undergo kidney dialysis are at a high risk for sepsis and sepsis-related death, according to the article.

Statins are a class of drugs that lower the level of cholesterol in the blood by blocking the enzyme in the liver responsible for making cholesterol, according to Medicinenet.com. Sepsis is a severe blood infection that overwhelms the immune system.

More than a half-million people in the U.S. receive dialysis, and every year 100,000 more begin it, many unaware of their risk of sepsis.

Johns Hopkins researchers don’t know exactly how statins help