Side effects of statins are caused by ‘nocebo’ effect, study finds

A UK study found that patients taking statins could experience debilitating side effects because they are told to expect them.

The “nocebo effect” could be the cause of 90% of the health problems reported by people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Eight million people in the UK take statins, with the drugs given to people who are said to have a 10% or greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease or having a heart attack or stroke within the next decade.

The NHS says about one in 50 people who take the drug for five years will prevent a serious heart event.

The study, which was conducted at Hammersmith Hospital in West London (pictured) followed 60 patients who had previously stopped taking statins due to negative side effects

Despite this, up to a fifth of people stop taking potentially life-saving drugs after reporting side effects, including muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, and joint pain.

A new study has found that up to 90% of reported side effects could be due to the “ nocebo effect ” – a phenomenon, opposite to the placebo effect, in which thinking that a drug will have effects. adverse effects lead patients to feel a truly negative side. effects.

The study, which was performed at Hammersmith Hospital, followed 60 patients who had previously stopped taking statins due to negative side effects.

Each patient received 12 unlabeled vials – four with statins, four with dummy pills, and four with nothing.

Every day for a year, patients rated the symptoms they experienced from 1 to 100, with 100 being the most severe.

The study found that those who took nothing at all would give their symptoms an average score of eight, compared to those who took dummy pills who scored their symptoms on average at 15.4.

This compares to results recorded while participants were taking real statins, during which time they rated symptoms on average 16.3.

Symptoms were 90% as severe when taking the dummy pills as when taking real statins.

The clear jump between those who take nothing and those who take the inactive pills shows a “nocebo effect” which the British Heart Foundation has called “undeniable”.

Researchers at Imperial College London hope the results will mean fewer people will be withdrawn from statins due to side effects.

Dr James Howard, a researcher from Imperial College London, told the BBC: ‘Side effects are mainly caused by the act of taking the pills, not what is in them.

“It’s crazy when you think about it, for most people it’s completely incongruous.

However, the “nocebo effect” doesn’t mean that people aren’t actually in pain when they say so.

Twenty-four of the 49 participants who completed the trial discontinued the tablets prematurely due to intolerable side effects during at least one month of the trial, with 71 total discontinuations.

NHS says 1 in 10 people suffer from mild side effects from statins, while 1 in 100 people experience more severe symptoms

Of the 71 stops, 31 occurred during the placebo months and 40 during the statin months.

Dr Howard added: “Our patients were really in pain, the patients are not reconciling”.

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: “ These results undeniably show that statins are not responsible for many of the side effects attributed to them.

“Decades of evidence has proven that statins save lives and should be the first port of call for people at high risk for heart attack and stroke.

The study will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Heart Association conference.