greatly outweigh the risks, according to a review of research
published over 20 years.
Some experts fear that statins may be overused, but these new findings
could offer reassurance to the more than 200 million people worldwide
who take the drugs, the review authors said.
Common statin medications include Crestor, Lipitor and Zocor.
"For most at-risk patients, the cardiovascular benefits far exceed the
risks," study author Dr. Chintan Desai, a clinical cardiology fellow
at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, said in a Hopkins news release.
They analysed data from studies conducted since 1994 that included
more than 150,000 middle-aged and elderly men and women who took
statins and were followed for about five years.
The results showed that long-term statin use slightly increased the
risk of some side effects but did not increase the risk for others.
For example, there was little evidence of muscle aches and pains and
only a slight increase in the risk of muscle inflammation.
A serious condition featuring the rapid breakdown of muscle tissue was
mainly associated with high doses of statins that are no longer
recommended.
Long-term use of statins was associated with a modest increase in the
risk of type 2 diabetes, but only among people who had other diabetes
risk factors. People who took statins for a long time had low
increased risk for dementia, blood clots, cataracts and fatigue.
The researchers also found that statin use offered some protection for
people at risk for inflammation of the pancreas and for kidney disease
caused by the dye used for some medical imaging procedures.
The study was published in the British Medical Journal.
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