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  • Are statins overprescribed for cardiovascular disease prevention?

    Are statins overprescribed for cardiovascular disease prevention? File Photo

    For millions of people who take statins to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease, the potential harms of the cholesterol-lowering medication may outweigh the benefits.

    Statins may be 'significantly overprescribed' for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, suggests a new study.

    So concludes a recent modeling study from the University of Zurich in Switzerland that questions whether statins are "significantly overprescribed."

    The research, which features in the Annals of Internal Medicine, concerns the use of statins for the "primary prevention" of cardiovascular disease in people with no history of the disease.

    A primary prevention measure is one that intervenes to prevent a condition before it can impact health. Vaccinations, for example, are primary prevention measures.

    Statins are some of the most prescribed classes of drugs worldwide. They work by blocking an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase that helps the liver to make cholesterol.

    Most medical guidelines recommend the use of statins for people with no history of symptoms when their expected risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years is 7.5–10 percent.

    Such a 10-year risk threshold places around 3 out of every 10 adults worldwide as eligible for treatment.

    However, the authors note that "whether and how guideline developers weighed harms against benefits is often unclear."