According to a report in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, patients with chronic inflammatory muscle diseases were more likely to have taken statins than healthy controls.
Some case reports had suggested that statins could trigger chronic muscle diseases, including dermatomyositis and polymyositis, but no earlier studies had examined the link.
Dr L. Sailler and colleagues at the University of Toulouse in France assessed the link between chronic muscle disease in 37 patients over 50 and their earlier use of statins. Patients with the disease were 2.73 times more likely to have ever taken statins than healthy people, and 4.36 times more likely to have taken them regularly.
The researchers also found that 12 of 15 statin users and 6 of 22 non-users had taken at least one other drug that is toxic to muscles or may interfere with statin metabolism, and they noted a link between statins plus proton pump inhibitors (stomach acid drugs, PPIs) and the risk of chronic muscle disease.
So doctors should be aware that statins and PPIs may contribute to inflammatory muscle disease in patients taking them long term, and should consider stopping statins in patients with dermatomyositis or polymyositis. Patients who develop muscle pain or weakness on statins should tell their doctor rather than stop on their own.
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