Statin use associated with a 340% increased risk of acute memory loss

This study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine 2015 Jun 8

 

Study title and authors:

Statin Therapy and Risk of Acute Memory Impairment.

Strom BL, Schinnar R, Karlawish J, Hennessy S, Teal V, Bilker WB.

Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey

 

This study can b accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26054031

The objective of the study was to assess whether statin users and users of other cholesterol lowering drugs show acute decline in memory compared with nonusers. The study lasted 26 years and included 482,543 statin users, 482,543 matched non users of any cholesterol lowering drugs and 26,484 users of non statin cholesterol lowering drugs.

The study found:
(a) Statin users had a 340% increased risk of acute memory loss within 30 days immediately following exposure compared to non users.
(b) Non statin cholesterol lowering drug users had a 260% increased risk of acute memory loss within 30 days immediately following exposure compared to non users.

Strom concluded: "Both statin and nonstatin lipid lowering drugs were strongly associated with acute memory loss in the first 30 days following exposure in users compared with nonusers".