Statins reduce the risk of cataracts

Sunday, September 15 2013 | 00 h 00 min | News

A recent meta-analysis contradicts previous ideas about the risks of statins.

Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. In Canada, in 2006, 23.6 million statin prescriptions were filled. For years, the side effects, namely the development of cataracts, have raised concerns.

In 2010, a British study involving more than two million patients found that 16% of them were currently treated or had been treated with statins. They claimed that for each 10,000 users, statins taken for five years caused 307 cases of cataracts. In 2012, at the University of Waterloo, a study of 6,400 patients found that the use of statins increased the risk of cataracts by 57%.

And now, a new meta-analysis, this time American, involving 2,399,200 people and 25,618 cataracts, claims that statins actually reduce the risk. Patients taking statins were about 20% less likely to have developed a cataract than the others. The risk decreased by half among patients in their forties and by only 10% among those who were over seventy. Also, the effectiveness increased with long-term statin use.

According to lead researcher John B. Kostis, the findings dispel worries about the connection between statins and cataracts. Unless, of course, a new study comes along to contradict these findings… 

Sources:

http://www.passeportsante.net/fr/Actualites/Nouvelles/Fiche.aspx?doc=statines-cholesterol-effets-indesirables-surveiller-de-pres_20100604  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248785.php

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130831110911.htm