The side effects * associated with this drug class may be more common in older adults. And the benefit-risk balance be reversed. The studies conducted so far are contradictory. One of them recently showed that among people who stopped their treatment, the risk of hospitalization was 33% higher. Another found that in people at moderate risk the use of statins was associated with a risk of cardiovascular event decreased by 7% per year of use. However, in those at low risk, no effect was found.
Compare with placebo
To have a clear heart, it is essential to “confirm or deny these doubts” through “large trials comparing the efficacy of statins to that of a placebo,” says Éric Bruckert, endocrinologist and Inserm researcher **. Either one could “stop prescribing drugs unnecessarily to people who generally already have a lot to take for other illnesses” or “avoid depriving these patients of effective drugs, knowing that they are at greater risk of d ‘cardiovascular incidents’.
Several works are in progress but their results are not expected for several years. “While waiting for this data, doctors are calling on patients over the age of 75 who regularly take statins for high cholesterol not to interrupt their treatment,” concludes Inserm.
* muscular disorders (muscular pains or cramps), hepatic and digestive, insomnia, headaches…
** in the Research Unit on Cardiovascular Diseases of Metabolism and Nutrition, in Paris
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