Thursday July 2, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study report published in International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy showed that the majority of patients who used statins experienced one or more adverse effects.

Statins are very effective at lowering cholesterol and are considered able to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients who had prior heart problems even though some doctors believe statins are not cost-effective at reducing the cardiovascular risk in people without a (family) history of heart disease.

The current study based on data from 718 patients who visited outpatient clinics of two University hospitals in northeast Thailand showed that 76% patients taking statins experienced one more symptoms, 69% of which were adverse effects induced by statins.

Of the patients taking statins, 39.4% reported musculoskeletal symptoms and 18.7% experienced liver related symptoms.  Of the musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal symptoms, 56.7% were induced by statins.

Specifically, patients taking atorvastatin or rosuvastatin and those with history of chronic kidney disease were more likely to have creatine kinase monitored at the beginning and during the statin treatment.  Creatine kinase also known as creatine phosphokinase, CK or CPK in the blood is tested to monitor skeletal muscle or heart injury.  (David Liu)

Nataporn Chaipichit, Janet Krska, Thongchai Pratipanawatr, Narumol Jarernsiripornku, Statin adverse effects: patients’ experiences and laboratory monitoring of muscle and liver injuries,  International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, April 2015, Volume 37, Issue 2, pp 355-364