Serious statin side effects on muscles are extremely rare, new research confirms

Scientists created a tool to help doctors predict a patient’s risk of severe muscle problems from taking a statin.

People are more worried about severe muscular problems when taking statins than they should be: Such side effects are exceedingly rare, research published Thursday in the journal The Lancet Digital Health reaffirms.

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Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and statins can lower LDL cholesterol levels by as much as 60%, reducing a person’s risk of a heart attack or stroke. But despite more than 50 years of data showing the cholesterol-lowering medications are safe, many people are still hesitant to take statins, fearing side effects.

Less than half of the 50 million people in the United States who could benefit from statins use them, and up to one-third of people never fill their statin prescriptions. And it’s not uncommon for people to stop taking the drug soon after it’s prescribed: Research has shown that about 40% of people prescribed a statin quit taking the drug within three months.