The raison d'etre of this website is to provide you with hard scientific information which may help you make informed decisions in your quest for health (so far I have blogged concise summaries of over 1,500 scientific studies and have had three books published).

My research is mainly focused on the effects of cholesterol, saturated fat and statin drugs on health. If you know anyone who is worried about their cholesterol levels and heart disease, or has been told to take statin drugs you could send them a link to this website, and to my statin or cholesterol or heart disease books.

David Evans

Independent Health Researcher

Thursday 21 April 2011

Statin use leads to more falls and a decline in muscle strength

This post includes a synopsis of a study published in QJM 2009 Sep;102(9):625-33

Study title and authors:
Statin therapy, muscle function and falls risk in community-dwelling older adults
Scott D, Blizzard L, Fell J, Jones G.
Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia. dsscott@utas.edu.au

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19633029

The aim of this study of 774 older adults was to describe the differences between statin users and non-users in leg strength, leg muscle quality and fall risk.

The study found:
(a) Statin users had more falls than non-statin users.
(b) Statin users had decreased leg strength compared to non-statin users.
(c) Statin users had lower muscle quality compared to non-statin users.
(d) Statin users had decreased leg strength and lower muscle quality compared to those who had ceased statin use.

To conclude, statin use leads to more falls and a decline in muscle strength. These effects may be reversible with cessation of the drug.

 
 
Links to other studies: