Statins don’t cause all the muscle soreness they’re blamed for

Statins are a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs. commonly prescribed And probably save many lives. It is also notorious for being able to cause muscle soreness. Many people stop taking statins, Don’t hesitate to take it in the first place. but, new research It suggests that most of the muscle soreness that people get with statins is not caused by statins.

The study aimed to calculate the number of people with muscle soreness from Not just statins while they were statin. Because, of course, muscle soreness can come from other sources. After raking the garden all day, Also have muscle pain from influenza.Various medical conditions can also cause muscle soreness, including fibromyalgia, lupus, and Lyme disease. 〇Drugs other than statins maybe again become the culprit.

T.he is the new metaAnalyzes looked at large randomized statin studies that were placebo controlled. (OOne group of patients received a statin, another group did not.) If statins generally caused muscle pain, more people in the statin group than in the corresponding control group had muscle pain. are expected to experienceResearchers found that muscle soreness, cramps, and related symptoms were common in both groups, and those taking statins a bit more likely to report these symptoms than the placebo group. They calculated that of those taking statins and experiencing muscle pain, at least 90% would have had muscle pain if they were not taking the statin.

Importantly, they also conduct People who get muscle pain from statins tend to experience the side effects in the first year of taking the drug. It is very likely that statins are not the culprit. They also found that muscle soreness caused by statins was less severe than other types of muscle soreness.

Currently, there are no guidelines on what to do if people taking statins experience muscle soreness. The authors suggest that the field needs better recommendations on how to deal with such situations. People with muscle pain may want to consider discontinuing statins, but it is also beneficial to investigate the cause of the pain in case a doctor’s visit is required.

Ultimately it comes down to risk versus benefit. The authors of this study calculated it for each 1.000 people who were started on statins and whose LDL cholesterol decreased by 1 mmol/L over 5 years Statins can cause 11 (usually mild) muscle soreness or weakness, but prevent 50 major vascular events in people with pre-existing vascular disease (secondary prevention) and pre-existing vascular disease. It prevents 25 major vascular events in disease-free people. (Primary prevention)

Ultimately, the decision to take statins should be made in consultation with your doctor. But if muscle soreness is the primary reason you’re hesitant, the new data could help you make more informed decisions.