For Most Healthy People, Benefits Of Statins 'May Be Marginal At Best'

For low risk groups, they may be an example of low value care, say experts

The benefits of statins for people without heart disease (known as primary prevention) is small and uncertain and there are potential harms, say researchers in The BMJ today.

Paula Byrne at the National University of Ireland Galway and colleagues draw on the findings of their three recent peer reviewed papers on statins for primary prevention, and argue that statins in this context “may be an example of low value care and, in some cases, represent a waste of healthcare resources.”

They say greater awareness of the gaps in the evidence could help doctors and patients make more informed decisions, particularly for people at low risk of heart disease for whom the balance of benefits and harms of statins is still unclear.

Statins are one of the most commonly used medicines in the world, with estimated global sales approaching $1 trillion by 2020.