BMJ: Relax-how does the lipid-lowering drug statin perform in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease?

There is substantial evidence that statins can effectively reduce cardiac vascular risk disease (CVD) and is recommended by clinical guidelines for the prevention of first-line treatment of CVD
.

However, various adverse events occurred during clinical use, including muscle problems, liver dysfunction, renal insufficiency, diabetes, and eye diseases

There is substantial evidence that statins can effectively reduce cardiac vascular risk disease (CVD) and is recommended by clinical guidelines for the prevention of first-line treatment of CVD

In these people, because the average risk of CVD is lower, the absolute benefit of statins is smaller than that of secondary prevention populations who have previously had CVD events, so the balance of benefits and harms of treatment may not be so favorable
.

However, recent guidelines recommend the wider use of statins in primary prevention, so that a large number of low-risk CVD populations are eligible for treatment and face the risk of adverse reactions

Recent guidelines recommend wider use of statins in primary prevention, so that a large number of people with low CVD risk are eligible for treatment and face the risk of adverse reactions

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between statins and adverse events in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and to study how these associations vary with the type and dose of statins
.

Researchers searched all clinical trials up to August 2020 from Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases

Randomized controlled trials of adults without a history of CVD were included to compare statins with non-statins, or to compare different types or doses of statins
.

The main results are common adverse events: muscle symptoms, clinically proven muscle disorders, liver dysfunction, renal insufficiency, diabetes, and eye conditions

Myocardial infarction

Risk of bias for all included studies

Risk of bias for all included studies

A total of 62 trials were included and 120,456 participants were followed for an average of 3.
9 years
.

Statins and self-reported muscle symptoms (21 trials, OR=1.

Statins and self-reported muscle symptoms (21 trials, OR=1.

The above increased risk is far less than the main CVD risk reduced by statins, that is, the benefits of statin treatment outweigh the harm

Paired analysis shows the relationship between statin safety and efficacy results

Paired analysis shows the relationship between statin safety and efficacy results

It can be seen that for the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the risk of adverse events attributed to statins is very low, and does not exceed its effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular diseases.
This indicates that statins are more beneficial for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
Cons
.

It can be seen that for the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the risk of adverse events attributed to statins is very low, and does not exceed its effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular diseases.
This indicates that statins are more beneficial for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
Cons
.

It can be seen that for the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the risk of adverse events attributed to statins is very low, and does not exceed its efficacy in preventing cardiovascular diseases.

references:

Associations between statins and adverse events in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review with pairwise, network, and dose-response meta-analyses.
BMJ 2021; 374 doi: https://doi.
org/10.
1136/bmj.
n1537

Associations between statins and adverse events in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review with pairwise, network, and dose-response meta-analyses.
Leave a message here