Key result
Statin use is linked to mild myalgia in ~10% of patients as the primary symptom.
Why the study?
Statin-associated symptoms are rare in clinical trials, making their causative relationship to statins unclear despite their clinical importance.
What are the common statin-associated side effects and how should they be managed?
What are the common statin-associated side effects and how should they be managed?
Statin-associated symptoms, particularly muscle symptoms and diabetes, are important clinical considerations that require careful management to avoid unnecessary discontinuation of life-saving therapy.
Reassures clinicians that severe muscle toxicity is rare to prevent unnecessary therapy discontinuation; confirms established safety profiles.
Hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors or statins are well tolerated, but associated with various statin-associated symptoms (SAS), including statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS), diabetes mellitus (DM), and central nervous system complaints. These are "statin-associated symptoms" because they are rare in clinical trials, making their causative relationship to statins unclear. SAS are, nevertheless, important because they prompt dose reduction or discontinuation of these life-saving mediations. SAMS is the most frequent SAS, and mild myalgia may affect 5% to 10% of statin users. Clinically important muscle symptoms, including rhabdomyolysis and statin-induced necrotizing autoimmune myopathy (SINAM), are rare. Antibodies against HMG-CoA reductase apparently provoke SINAM. Good evidence links statins to DM, but evidence linking statins to other SAS is largely anecdotal. Management of SAS requires making the possible diagnosis, altering or discontinuing the statin treatment, and using alternative lipid-lowering therapy.
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Thompson et al. (2016) conducted a review in Statin-associated symptoms. Statins was evaluated. Statin use is associated with mild myalgia in 5% to 10% of users, which is the most frequent statin-associated symptom and can prompt dose reduction or discontinuation.
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