Many patients stop taking statins because of muscle pain, but statins aren't causing it

Many patients stop taking statins because of muscle pain, but statins aren't causing it

 

Statins are an important tool to prevent major cardiovascular problems, but many patients stop taking them because of side effects, including muscle pain. However, for more than 90% of patients on statins who experience muscle pain, the statin is not the cause of the pain, according to new research published this week in the journal The Lancet.   The researchers reviewed 19 randomized double-blind trials of statin regimens versus placebos. All trials had over 1,000 participants and at least two years of follow up. They also looked at four double-blind trials of more and less intense statin regimens.   Study author Colin Baigent, a professor of epidemiology at University of Oxford, said that there have been many non-randomized studies which don't involve any kind of placebo or random allocation to a statin that have produced "really quite extreme" estimates of how much muscle pain statins cause.   This latest analysis found among those on a "moderate-intensity statin regimen” the treatment, is likely to be the cause in only approximately one in 15 patients who report muscle symptoms, rising to approximately one in 10 in those on a more intensive regimen. Moderate intensity was defined as a 30-50% reduction in LDL cholesterol from baseline while high intensity was considered to be a 50% or more reduction.   The authors found that in the first year, statin therapy produced a 7% relative increase in muscle pain or weakness, but there was no significant increase after that.