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Staying Healthy
Muscle pain in statin users is probably not caused by the drug
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
In the journals
While muscle pain is a possible side effect of taking a statin medication, an analysis published Sept. 10, 2022, in The Lancet found that it’s uncommon, and most pain stems from something other than the cholesterol-lowering drug.
Researchers reviewed 19 trials with more than 120,000 people who took either a daily statin or a placebo for an average of four years. (Most dosages were moderate-intensity regimens that typically reduced LDL cholesterol levels by approximately one-third.) About 25% of people reported muscle pain whether they took statins or not.
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About the Author
Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
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