Study: Statin Drug Side Effects Are Controllable

Many patients who quit taking their cholesterol-lowering statin drugs because of side effects can successfully try again taking them, a new study said on Monday.

A study is published in the April 2, 2013 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine said that many patients who stop taking statins, one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S. because of side effects like fatigue, muscle pain, confusion and diabetes concerns - may safely return to taking them.

Researchers found that of more than 100,000 Boston-area adults, 17 percent stopped taking it because of side effects which was most often muscle aches. But within a year, more than half gave statins another chance, 90 percent were able to stick with it.

In some cases, the problem or pain may not be caused by the drug at all, said senior researcher Dr. Alexander Turchin, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

"Muscle pain can happen with statins," he said, "but it can also have many other causes."

"In my own clinical experience, I have found that many patients report adverse reactions to statins, such as muscle pain, and then stop taking them. At the same time, we often find that patients who had previously stopped taking a statin because of these adverse reactions, are ultimately able to tolerate them again the second time around," said Turchin.

"We interpret these results as a glass half-full, meaning that there are potentially millions of patients who could take statins again, and ultimately reduce their risk of heart disease," explained Turchin. This study provides important take home messages for both patients and physicians. For patients, it's important to understand that just because you may have had an adverse reaction to a statin, that does not necessarily mean you should stop taking them altogether. For physicians, it's important to suggest to the patient that many times these drugs can be tolerated, and it may be time to try another statin or perhaps a lower dose

The study was funded by The National Library of Medicine, Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation and Chinese National Key Program of Clinical Science. Turchin received a grant from Merck, the manufacturer of a statin drug.