The drugs are widely prescribed to prevent heart disease, but there have been concerns for years that they may often cause muscle pain or weakness. Now a study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona and published in the Lancet effectively debunks that belief. “The idea that statins might cause frequent muscle pain has been a persistent belief among some patients and clinicians. However, our study confirms that a statin is rarely the cause of muscle pain in those taking statins,” said Professor Colin Baigent, Director of the Medical Research Council’s Population Health Research Unit at the University of Oxford and joint lead author of of study. . “These findings suggest that if a patient taking statins reports muscle pain, then the symptoms should first be considered not due to the statin and likely due to other causes.” Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs. Eight million people in the UK take them, as do millions more worldwide. “Drug regulators around the world care about keeping patients safe,” Baigent said. “And until now they thought that doing that was best served with these warnings about the potential for muscle soreness. “What we’ve shown is actually that’s not the best way to serve patients because patients get this information and the moment they develop muscle pain they suspect the statin and that leads many of them to stop the statin, which actually it puts them in a bad way. “And so we need to try to change the balance of that and work with regulators to do a better job of communicating the risks.” An analysis of data covering 155,000 patients from 23 statin trials found that when a patient reported muscle symptoms while taking a statin, there was less than a 10% chance the pain was caused by the drug. It also suggested that the small increased risk of muscle symptoms was mostly seen within the first year of treatment. Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which co-funded the study, said: “This accumulation of data from many clinical trials provides a clear picture that while statins are associated with a small increase in the risk of muscle pain. or weakness, do not cause the majority of muscle pain symptoms commonly associated with them. “It strengthens the evidence that statins are safe, which should provide reassurance to the many people taking or considering taking these lifesaving drugs that have been shown to protect against heart attacks and strokes.” After the first year of the 23 trials there was no significant increase in the risk of reporting muscle pain. The researchers said the risk of muscle symptoms caused by statins should be considered alongside the cardiovascular benefits of the treatment. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Given the findings, they are calling for a review of recommended strategies for managing muscle pain when using statins and a revision of the drug’s label information. Dr Christina Reith, senior clinical researcher at Oxford Population Health and joint lead author of the study, said: “We hope these results will help doctors and patients make informed decisions about whether to start or stay on treatment with statins, taking into account its known significant benefits in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.’ The study found that among 19 clinical trials that also involved people taking a placebo, 27.1% of patients given statins reported muscle pain or weakness, compared with 26.6% of those taking a placebo. After the first year of treatment there was no significant difference in reports of muscle pain or weakness between those taking statins and those taking the placebo, the study found. The Oxford researchers stressed that if patients experienced muscle symptoms they should tell their doctor and also acknowledged that in very rare cases the drug can cause quite severe muscle damage.
