Researchers Find “Unintended” Statin Side Effects
May 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under News Stories
May 21, 2010
BBC News
Some doses and types of statins are linked with a greater risk of adverse effects, including liver problems and kidney failure, the UK research showed.
Doctors will have access to a computer program based on the findings to help spot those most at risk.
Millions of UK adults take the drugs to reduce heart attack and stroke risk.
The researchers, from the University of Nottingham, stressed that for many people the benefits of statins outweighed any adverse effects, but the findings would help weigh up the pros and cons in each patient. There are plans to prescribe statins on the NHS in around one in four adults aged over 40.
The Department of Health had predicted prescriptions for the drugs would rise by 30% a year, as GPs find more and more people eligible.
At the moment, anyone judged to have a one in five or greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease over 10 years is advised to take a statin.
But there has been much debate over side effects and the latest research set out to confirm where the problems may lie in a “real life” population.
