Statins are associated with an approximate doubling of the risk of muscle disease

This study was published in Clinical Therapeutics 2007 Aug;29(8):1761-70

Study title and authors:
Does statin therapy initiation increase the risk for myopathy? An observational study of 32,225 diabetic and nondiabetic patients.

Nichols GA, Koro CE.
Kaiser Permanente, Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon 97227-1098, USA. greg.nichols@kpchr.org

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17919557

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of myopathy (muscle disease) among subjects with or without diabetes, some of whom received statin treatment. the study included 32,225 subjects who were followed for nine years.

The study found:
(a) Statins users with diabetes had a 43% increased risk of myopathy compared to non-users with diabetes.
(b) Statin users without diabetes had a 143% increased risk of myopathy compared to non-users without diabetes.

The study reveals that statins are associated with an approximate doubling of the risk of muscle disease.