Major breakthrough for anyone at risk of strokes and heart attacks

Need to know

Researchers have found that most of the conditions listed as a side effect of vital medications are not caused by the drugs

A group of medications that help lower cholesterol do not cause some of the major side effects listed on the packaging, a new study finds. Research part-funded by British Heart Foundation found that statins do not cause the majority of the conditions that have been listed in their package leaflets.

Statins are widely used in the UK to lower cholesterol in the blood to minimise the risk of heart disease which is a very common cause of death in the UK.

Based on a new study from The Lancet, researchers found that most of the conditions listed as a side effect of statins are not caused by the medications including cognitive impairment, depression, sleep disturbance, and peripheral neuropathy.

Researchers have also called for labels and health information to be revised due to their findings. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here

The study says: “Adverse event data from blinded randomised trials do not support causal relationships between statin therapy and most of the conditions (including cognitive impairment, depression, sleep disturbance, and peripheral neuropathy) listed in product labels as potential undesirable effects.

“In light of these findings, such labelling and other official sources of health information should be revised so that patients and their doctors can make appropriately informed decisions regarding statin therapy.”

There are 5 types of statin available on prescription in the UK:

• Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• Fluvastatin (Lescol)
• Pravastatin (Lipostat)
• Rosuvastatin (Crestor)
• Simvastatin (Zocor)

What the scientists found

• The researchers, led by a team at Oxford Population Health, looked through data from over 150,000 participants in 23 clinical trials.
• These included 19 trials involving 123,940 participants comparing the effects of statin therapies against a placebo, and four trials involving 30,724 participants comparing more intensive against less intensive statin therapy.
• They found similar numbers of reports for those taking the statins and those taking the placebo for almost all the conditions listed in package leaflets as possible side effects.

Professor Bryan Williams, British Heart Foundation’s chief scientific and medical officer, said: “These findings are hugely important and provide authoritative, evidence-based reassurance for patients. Statins are lifesaving drugs, which have been proven to protect against heart attacks and strokes. Among the large number of patients assessed in this well-conducted analysis, only four side effects out of 66 were found to have any association with taking statins, and only in a very small proportion of patients.

“This evidence is a much-needed counter to the misinformation around statins and should help prevent unnecessary deaths from cardiovascular disease. Recognising which side effects might genuinely be associated with statins is also important as it will help doctors make decisions about when to use alternative treatments.”