Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
September 03, 2022
Contrary to popular belief, statins, drugs widely prescribed to treat hypercholesterolemia, cause little muscle pain. At least that’s what a new study, published in the journal The Lancet, suggests.
Statins are the reference treatment for treating excess cholesterol, and more specifically bad cholesterol (LDL). It is one of the most commonly used drugs in people with a high cardiovascular risk. Despite everything, they sometimes have a bad reputation: in rare cases, muscular adverse effects are notified… but they remain unclear. To try to find out more about this subject, a large-scale study was conducted.
19 trials were analyzed
As part of this large meta-analysis, the scientists collected all existing trials of statin treatment with more than 1000 participants and an average follow-up of 2 years. The data from this work had to include symptoms and muscle pain such as myalgia and muscle weakness.
The researchers then compared the effects of statins on the participants versus a placebo.
Result: In the 19 double-blind trials comparing a statin with a placebo, 16,835 participants receiving a statin versus 16,446 participants receiving a placebo reported at least one episode of muscle pain or weakness over 4.3 years.
On the other hand, statin treatment produced a 7% increase in pain or muscle weakness in the first year, but no significant increase thereafter.
The risk of side effects was particularly increased tenfold at the start of therapy, in the first 3 months.
Finally, muscle pain or weakness appeared to be higher in women on mild or moderate-intensity statin therapy.
Consult a GP online
Pain, muscle weakness: most effects are mild
For the researchers, the results from these data are clear: the effects of statins are less.
“ We have reliably demonstrated that the small excess risk of muscle symptoms due to statin treatment occurred largely within the first year of treatment.. »
Nevertheless, a large part of these events “ are not due to statin therapy “, too ” such studies do not help to better understand the causal role of statins over time “, they specify.
As a reminder, any statin therapy requires increased monitoring by medical personnel for the first few months after starting treatment.
The ANSM also specifies that in the event of muscle weakness, pain or fragility, a doctor should be notified.