Filenews 11 February 2026
Statins, which are among the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide to lower "bad" LDL cholesterol, do not appear to be responsible for the vast majority of the side effects listed in their leaflets. This emerges from the largest and most comprehensive analysis carried out to date.
The study was prepared by researchers at Oxford Population Health and published in the scientific journal The Lancet. The results come to reassure millions of patients, at a time when concerns about possible side effects have led many to stop or even avoid treatment, despite the documented cardiovascular benefit of statins.
What the largest analysis to date has shown
The researchers analyzed data from 23 large randomized clinical trials of the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaboration.
In total, data from more than 154,000 participants were examined:
-123,940 people from 19 studies comparing statins with placebo
-30,724 people from four studies comparing more intensive to less intensive statin therapy
The analysis showed that almost all of the adverse reactions listed in the leaflets occurred with a similar frequency in both those taking statins and those taking placebo, which does not support a causal relationship for most of them.
A typical example is cognitive impairment or memory loss: The relevant symptoms were recorded at a rate of 0.2% per year in both participants taking statins and those taking placebo. This finding shows that, although such symptoms may occur during treatment, there is insufficient scientific data to substantiate that they are specifically caused by statins.
The main conclusions of the study
-There was no statistically significant increase in risk for the vast majority of adverse reactions listed in the leaflets.
-Taking statins was not associated with a substantial increase in cases of dementia or memory loss, depression, sleep disorders, erectile dysfunction, weight gain, nausea, fatigue or headache.
-A slight increase (about 0.1%) in liver enzyme disorders was recorded in blood tests. However, no increase in serious liver diseases, such as hepatitis or liver failure, was observed, suggesting limited clinical significance for the vast majority of patients.
What the researchers say
The study's lead author, Christina Reith, an associate professor at Oxford Population Health, notes that statins are life-saving drugs, which have been used by hundreds of millions of people over the past 30 years. As he emphasizes, fears around their safety have deterred many high-risk patients from a treatment that could significantly reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Similarly, Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical advisor of the British Heart Foundation, described the findings as "extremely important", pointing out that of the 66 possible side effects examined, only four showed a statistically detectable association, and even in a very small percentage of patients.
Sir Rory Collins, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Epidemiology at Oxford Population Health and lead author of the study, underlined that many of the warnings in the guidance sheets are based on non-randomised studies, which are prone to bias. As he said, the new data make it necessary to revise the information accompanying statins, so that patients and doctors can make more informed decisions.
Conclusion
The findings of the study contribute to the deconstruction of widespread perceptions about statins and underline that, for the vast majority of patients, the documented cardiovascular benefit clearly outweighs the potential risks. In an era where cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, accurate and informed information is a critical factor in making treatment decisions.
