Statin use increases the risk of osteoarthritis and joint pain by 26%

This study was published in the American Journal of Medical Sciences 2013 May;345(5):343-8

 

Study title and authors:

Incidence of musculoskeletal and neoplastic diseases in patients on statin therapy: results of a retrospective cohort analysis.

Mansi IA, Mortensen EM, Pugh MJ, Wegner M, Frei CR.

Brooke Army Medical Center, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 78234-6200, USA. Iishak.mansi@us.army.mil

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22975580

This study was conducted to investigate the incidence of various musculoskeletal diseases in statin users and nonusers. The study included 12,980 statin users and 45,997 nonusers who were followed for four years.

The study found:
(a) Statin users had a 26% increased risk of osteoarthritis and arthropathy (joint pain) compared to non-users.
(b) Statin users had a 20% increased risk of dorsopathies (back or spinal pain), rheumatism (joint and connective tissue problems) and chondropathies (cartilage disease) compared to non-users.

Statin use linked to musculoskeletal diseases, joint pain and injuries

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine 2013:1-9

Study title and authors:
Statins and Musculoskeletal Conditions, Arthropathies, and Injuries
Ishak Mansi, MD; Christopher R. Frei, PharmD, MSc; Mary Jo Pugh, PhD; Una Makris, MD; Eric M. Mortensen, MD, MSc

This study can be accessed at: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1691918

The objective of the study was to determine whether statin use is associated with musculoskeletal disorders. ( Musculoskeletal disorders can affect the body's muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and nerves). This analysis compared 6,967 statin users with 6,967 nonusers.

The study found:
(a) Statin users had a 19% increased risk of all musculoskeletal diseases compared to nonusers.
(b) Statin users had a 13% increased risk of injury-related diseases (dislocation, sprain, strain) compared to nonusers.
(c) Statin users had a 9% increased risk of drug-associated musculoskeletal pain compared to nonusers.
(d) Statin users had a 7% increased risk of joint pain compared to nonusers.

Mansi concludes: "Musculoskeletal conditions, arthropathies, injuries, and pain are more common among statin users than among similar nonusers".

With only 12 weeks of statin therapy, 36% of the patients have side effects

This study was published in QJM 1999 Jul;92(7):387-94

Study title and authors:

Atorvastatin compared with simvastatin-based therapies in the management of severe familial hyperlipidaemias.

Wierzbicki AS, Lumb PJ, Semra Y, Chik G, Christ ER, Crook MA.

Department of Chemical Pathology, St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK. Anthony.Wierzbicki@ukcl.ac.uk

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10627888

The study investigated the side effects caused by statin therapy (Lipitor). Patients unable to tolerate previous statin therapy were excluded from the study. The trial lasted for 12 weeks and included 201 "patients" with alleged high cholesterol.

The study found:
(a) 36% of patients had to withdraw from the trial because of side effects.
(b) 7% of patients suffered from diarrhoea.
(c) 5% of patients developed an erythematous rash (An erythematous rash is characterized by redness resulting from skin inflammation surrounding a patch of skin where a rash is located).
(d) 4% of patients suffered from joint pains.

After only 12 weeks of statin (Lipitor) therapy, over a third of the patients had to withdraw from the trial because of side effects.

Useful book: How Statin Drugs Really Lower Cholesterol: And Kill You One Cell at a Time