CardioExchange Archive

To ascertain unintended effects of statins, researchers in the U.K. analyzed data from more than 2 million patients, including 200,000 patients taking statins for the first time. In a paper in BMJ, the researchers found a reduced risk for esophageal cancer among statin users, and an increased risk for moderate or serious liver dysfunction, acute renal failure, moderate to serious myopathy, and cataracts, as well as evidence of a dose-response effect for acute renal failure and liver dysfunction. The NNT to prevent one case of cardiovascular disease over 5 years was 37 for women and and 33 for men. In an accompanying editorial, Alawi Alsheikh-Ali and Richard Karas, conclude that “when used according to current guidelines, the benefits outweigh the risks,” and write that “it would be wise to interpret the present observations in the context of the confirmed cardioprotective effects of statins and remind ourselves and our patients that these drugs, although considered safe, are, like any intervention in medicine, not entirely free of adverse events. We should neither overstate the size of the benefit of statins, nor exaggerate their side effects.”