A new study on statins reveals surprise about popular drugs

The long list of side effects marked on the packaging of statins can be a turn-off for those who might benefit from the cholesterol-lowering drugs. But a new study found only a few of those side effects are really a risk.

In the meta-analysis, published Feb. 5 in the Lancet, researchers discovered only four of 66 undesirable outcomes attributed to statins were significant. This included no meaningful excess of memory loss or dementia, depression, sleep disturbance, erectile dysfunction, weight gain, nausea, fatigue or headache.

Statins are the drugs of choice for treating high cholesterol and preventing or reducing heart disease.

About 39 million adult Americans are on statins, with the largest demographic taking the medication being over 40 years old, Dr. Tamanna Singh of the Cleveland Clinic recently said on a podcast for the clinic. She added that Lipitor, Crestor and their generics, atorvastatin and rosuvastatin, respectively, are the most commonly prescribed statins.

“Statins are life-saving drugs used by hundreds of millions of people over the past 30 years. However, concerns about the safety of statins have deterred many people who are at risk of severe disability or death from a heart attack or stroke,” lead study author Christina Reith said in a news release.

The study looked at the effects of five drugs − atorvastatin, fluvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin − and used data from over a dozen trials of at least 1,000 participants each, often comparing the statin versus a placebo.

For example, the number of reports of cognitive or memory impairment was 0.2% in those taking the statins and in those taking a placebo, meaning there isn’t evidence that the problem was caused by the statin.

Other than well-known risks of muscle pain and diabetes, which the study did not investigate, the side effects that did appear with statin use were liver and urine changes as well as swelling, according to the findings.

“Our study provides reassurance that, for most people, the risk of side effects is greatly outweighed by the benefits of statins,” Reith said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Statins don’t cause most of listed side effects, study finds