![\"Hands,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/hands-pills-and-capsule-for-arthritis-pain-and-illness-or-chronic-disease-treatment-elderly-6721189..jpeg\" "\\"Hands,")
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Around eight million people in the UK take statins (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
Statins<\/a> are not responsible for the majority of side effects listed in package leaflets and millions more people should be taking them, according to researchers. A landmark study found \u201cincontrovertible evidence” that the cholesterol<\/a>-busting drugs did not cause many conditions they have been linked to, including memory loss or dementia<\/a>, depression, sleep disturbance and weight gain.<\/p>\n Oxford University researchers said decades of misleading information may have put millions off taking the daily pills. They can slash the risk of heart attacks<\/a> and strokes by up to half for those at the highest risk. Experts are now calling for an overhaul of labelling and NHS advice to ensure both patients and doctors are aware of the game-changing findings.<\/p>\n Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, said the study was an \u201coutstanding evaluation of the best available data\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cNobody is disputing the fact that patients get adverse effects throughout their life, the big question is, \u2018Are they related to the drug they are taking?\u2019 The answer here is, in large part, \u2018No\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of those other things that trouble patients\u2026have nothing to do with the treatment with statins. That is a very powerful message both for the public and for patients, and hopefully will lead to perhaps the six, seven, eight million people who should be on statins reappraising their thoughts about them.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s probably a shortfall close to half \u2014 50% of patients who would benefit from these extraordinary drugs are not receiving them, for whatever reason.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: Pressure at NHS hospitals as deadly infection cases surge by 120k <\/a><\/p>\n Read more: Labour issues major new NHS cancer update \u2014 impacts 3 in 4 patients <\/a><\/p>\n One of the most common statins, Atorvastatin, was the most dispensed drug in England with 73 million items in 2024\/25, according to NHS prescribing data.<\/p>\n Eight million people in the UK are thought to take the cheap pills, which slow down the production of LDL-cholesterol in the liver.<\/p>\n The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) told the NHS in 2023 that up to 15 million additional people might benefit.<\/p>\n Patient information leaflets list dozens of potential side effects. The team at Oxford Population Health reviewed records relating to more than 150,000 people who took part in 23 large-scale randomised-controlled trials \u2014 considered the gold standard for evaluating the effects of medicines.<\/p>\n On top of the known side effects of muscle symptoms and a small increase in risk of being diagnosed with diabetes, researchers found that only four of 66 “undesirable outcomes” previously linked to statins were actually associated with the drug.<\/p>\n Study leader Professor Christina Reith said: \u201cThere is no significant excess risk with statins for almost all the conditions listed in statins packaging as potential side effects.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were able to show there has been no increase in memory loss, depression<\/a>, sleep<\/a> disturbance, erectile dysfunction, weight gain, nausea, fatigue or headache and numerous other conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not to say that people taking statins did not experience these medical events. That\u2019s not surprising; these are common problems. However, what we were able to show reliably was that statins did not make these commonly experienced events occur more often.<\/p>\n BHF expert Bryan Williams talks about the impact of statins in the UK <\/p>\n \u201cThis means that we now have really good evidence that although these things may well happen to people while they take statins, that statins are not the cause of these problems.\u201d<\/p>\n The study, published in The Lancet medical journal, identified a small 0.1% increase in risk of liver blood test abnormalities for patients taking the pills. However, there was no increased risk of liver diseases or failure.<\/p>\n The other side effects identified by the research were a small increased risk of abnormal levels of liver enzymes, changes to urine and edema, or swelling caused by fluid.<\/p>\n Previous analysis by the same researchers found that around one in four people experienced muscle symptoms, regardless of whether they were on the medicine. Muscle symptoms were reported by 27.1% of people taking statins and 26.6% of those on a placebo dose.<\/p>\n Statins are also known to\u00a0cause a small increase in blood sugar levels, so people already at high risk may develop diabetes sooner.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prof Reith said patient information leaflets often listed side effects that were only seen in less reliable observational studies.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWhen patients take a package insert out, it\u2019s astonishing people take drugs at all in many ways because it is quite alarming.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would hope there\u2019s a wider message here for drug regulators to think about how drug labels should be best constructed to best inform patients and doctors about the true benefits and risks of therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n Study co-author Professor Sir Rory Collins, an emeritus professor of medicine and epidemiology at Oxford, said the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) was \u201cleading the world in changing labels\u201d but still took around four years to act on the team\u2019s findings about muscle symptoms.<\/p>\n Sir Rory said there was now \u201cincontrovertible evidence\u201d that most side effects previously linked to statins were not caused by the drugs.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThe NHS<\/a> also needs to change the website so that it provides people with the correct information.\u201d<\/p>\n The belief that statins can cause \u201cnasty side effects\u201d too often leads both doctors and patients to decide against using them, Sir Rory said. He also rejected the suggestion that drugs should be avoided in favour of other interventions such as lifestyle changes.<\/p>\n
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