Is statin-modified reduction in lipids the most important preventive therapy for cardiovascular disease? A pro/con debate
Open accessAbstract
The most prescribed medications in the world are statins, lipid modifiers that have been available for over 25 years and amongst the most investigated of all drug classes. With over a million patient years of trial data and publications in the most prestigious medical journals, it is remarkable that quite so much debate remains as to their place in healthcare. They have had a bittersweet passage, with vocal concerns over their possible risks, from suicide to cancer, and allegations that they do not work in women or the elderly, to statements that the whole published dataset, on over 200,000 patients consenting to enter trials, was fatally compromised by being industry-funded by and large. On the other side, there have been billions of dollars spent on generating their evidence base followed by promotion which has returned that investment many times over in profits, and a powerful scientific lobby that argue they are wonder drugs and that continued nihilism on their value risks patient lives. So who is right?
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Reducing LDL-C reduces risk for developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and its clinical sequelae.
“Many clinical trials have demonstrated that reducing LDL-C reduces risk for developing ASCVD and its clinical sequelae [4].”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
1 retracted
RETRACTED: Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet
Estruch, R., Ros, E., Salas-Salvadó, J., Covas, M.-I., Corella, D., Arós, F., Gómez-Gracia, E., Ruiz-Gutiérrez, V., Fiol, M., Lapetra, J., et al. (2013) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa1200303 · Cited by 4,257 · see citing works
RetractedStone, N. J., Robinson, J. G., Lichtenstein, A. H., Bairey Merz, C. N., Blum, C. B., Eckel, R. H., Goldberg, A. C., Gordon, D., Levy, D., Lloyd-Jones, D. M., et al. (2014) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.0000437738.63853.7a · Cited by 7,081 · see citing works
Rosuvastatin to Prevent Vascular Events in Men and Women with Elevated C-Reactive Protein
Ridker, P. M., Danielson, E., Fonseca, F. A. H., Genest, J., Gotto, A. M., Kastelein, J. J. P., Koenig, W., Libby, P., Lorenzatti, A. J., MacFadyen, J. G., et al. (2008) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa0807646 · Cited by 6,674 · see citing works
Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' (CTT) Collaboration (2010) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(10)61350-5 · Cited by 6,550 · see citing works
Ezetimibe Added to Statin Therapy after Acute Coronary Syndromes
Cannon, C. P., Blazing, M. A., Giugliano, R. P., McCagg, A., White, J. A., Theroux, P., Darius, H., Lewis, B. S., Ophuis, T. O., Jukema, J. W., et al. (2015) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa1410489 · Cited by 4,487 · see citing works
Rosuvastatin to Prevent Vascular Events in Men and Women With Elevated C-Reactive Protein
Ridker, P. M., Danielson, E., Fonseca, F. A. H., Genest, J. J., Gotto, A. M., Kastelein, J. J. P., Köenig, W., Libby, P., Lorenzatti, A. J., MacFadyen, J. G., et al. (2009) · Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey · doi:10.1097/01.ogx.0000344393.60303.0a · Cited by 3,641 · see citing works
ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias
Reiner, Ž., Catapano, A. L., De Backer, G., Graham, I., Taskinen, M.-R., Wiklund, O., Agewall, S., Alegria, E., Chapman, M. J., Durrington, P., et al. (2011) · European Heart Journal · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehr158 · Cited by 3,549 · see citing works
Self-citationEfficacy and Safety of Alirocumab in Reducing Lipids and Cardiovascular Events
Robinson, J. G., Farnier, M., Krempf, M., Bergeron, J., Luc, G., Averna, M., Stroes, E. S., Langslet, G., Raal, F. J., El Shahawy, M., et al. (2015) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa1501031 · Cited by 2,296 · see citing works
Kotseva, K., Wood, D., Bacquer, D. D., Backer, G. D., Rydén, L., Jennings, C. S., Gyberg, V., Amouyel, P., Bruthans, J., Conde, A. C., et al. (2015) · European Journal of Preventive Cardiology · doi:10.1177/2047487315569401 · Cited by 1,004 · see citing works
Brugts, J. J., Yetgin, T., Hoeks, S. E., Gotto, A. M., Shepherd, J., Westendorp, R. G. J., de Craen, A. J. M., Knopp, R. H., Nakamura, H., Ridker, P., et al. (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2376 · Cited by 792 · see citing works
ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias
Catapano, A. L., Reiner, Ž., De Backer, G., Graham, I., Taskinen, M.-R., Wiklund, O., Agewall, S., Alegria, E., Chapman, M. J., Durrington, P., et al. (2011) · Atherosclerosis · doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2011.06.028 · Cited by 706 · see citing works
Ray, K. K. (2010) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2010.182 · Cited by 446 · see citing works
Banach, M., Rizzo, M., Toth, P. P., Farnier, M., Davidson, M. H., Al‐Rasadi, K., Aronow, W. S., Athyros, V. G., Djuric, D. M., Владиславович, Е. М., et al. (2015) · Archives of Medical Science · doi:10.5114/aoms.2015.49807 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Self-citationNewton, J. N., Briggs, A. D. M., Murray, C. J. L., Dicker, D., Foreman, K. J., Wang, H., Naghavi, M., Forouzanfar, M. H., Ohno, S. L., Barber, R. M., et al. (2015) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)00195-6 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
Self-citationPredictors of Nonadherence to Statins: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Mann, D. M., Woodward, M., Muntner, P., Falzon, L., & Kronish, I. (2010) · Annals of Pharmacotherapy · doi:10.1345/aph.1p150 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Banach, M., Șerban, M.-C., Sahebkar, A., Mikhailidis, D. P., Ursoniu, S., Ray, K. K., Rysz, J., Toth, P. P., Muntner, P., Moșteoru, S., et al. (2015) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0459-4 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Self-citationFinegold, J. A., Manisty, C. H., Goldacre, B., Barron, A. J., & Francis, D. P. (2014) · European Journal of Preventive Cardiology · doi:10.1177/2047487314525531 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Should people at low risk of cardiovascular disease take a statin?
Abramson, J. D., Rosenberg, H. G., Jewell, N., & Wright, J. M. (2013) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.f6123 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Dysfunctional HDL: A novel important diagnostic and therapeutic target in cardiovascular disease?
Otocka-Kmiecik, A., Mikhailidis, D. P., Nicholls, S. J., Davidson, M. H., Rysz, J., & Banach, M. (2012) · Progress in Lipid Research · doi:10.1016/j.plipres.2012.03.003 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Self-citationȘerban, M.-C., Sahebkar, A., Ursoniu, S., Mikhailidis, D. P., Rizzo, M., Lip, G. Y. H., Hovingh, G. K., Kastelein, J. J. P., Kalinowski, L., Rysz, J., et al. (2015) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep09902 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Self-citationMacedo, A. F., Taylor, F. C., Casas, J. P., Adler, A. J., Prieto‐Merino, D., & Ebrahim, S. B. J. (2014) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/1741-7015-12-51 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Scirica, B. M., Morrow, D. A., Cannon, C. P., Ray, K. K., Sabatine, M. S., Jarolim, P., Shui, A., McCabe, C. H., & Braunwald, E. (2006) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2006.03.034 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
The impact of statin therapy on plasma levels of von Willebrand factor antigen
Sahebkar, A., Șerban, M.-C., Ursoniu, S., Mikhailidis, D. P., Undas, A., Lip, G. Y. H., Bittner, V., Ray, K. K., Watts, G. F., Hovingh, G. K., et al. (2015) · Thrombosis and Haemostasis · doi:10.1160/th15-08-0620 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Self-citationSahebkar, A., Kotani, K., Șerban, M.-C., Ursoniu, S., Mikhailidis, D. P., Jones, S. R., Ray, K. K., Blaha, M. J., Rysz, J., Toth, P. P., et al. (2015) · Atherosclerosis · doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2015.05.022 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
Self-citationBanach, M., Rizzo, M., Toth, P. P., Farnier, M., Davidson, M. H., Al-Rasadi, K., Aronow, W. S., Athyros, V., Djuric, D. M., Ezhov, M. V., et al. (2015) · Expert Opinion on Drug Safety · doi:10.1517/14740338.2015.1039980 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Self-citationEffects of Statins on Energy and Fatigue With Exertion: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial
Golomb, B. A., Evans, M. A., Dimsdale, J. E., & White, H. (2012) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.2171 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Association between statin use and plasma D-dimer levels
Mikhailidis, D. P., Undas, A., Lip, G. Y. H., Muntner, P., Bittner, V., Ray, K. K., Watts, G. F., Hovingh, G. K., Rysz, J., Kastelein, J. J. P., et al. (2015) · Thrombosis and Haemostasis · doi:10.1160/th14-11-0937 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Self-citationEddy, D. M., Schlessinger, L., Kahn, R., Peskin, B., & SCHIEBINGER, R. J. (2008) · Diabetes Care · doi:10.2337/dc08-0854 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Malhotra, A., Maughan, D., Ansell, J., et al. (2015) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.h2308 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Self-citationThe role of fibrate treatment in dyslipidemia: an overview
Katsiki, N., Nikolic, D., Montalto, G., Banach, M., Mikhailidis, D. P., & Rizzo, M. (2013) · Current Pharmaceutical Design · doi:10.2174/1381612811319170020 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Self-citationLee, K. H., Jeong, M. H., Kim, H. M., Ahn, Y., Kim, J., Chae, S. C., Kim, Y. J., Hur, S., Seong, I. W., Hong, T. J., et al. (2011) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2011.05.057 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Lipids, blood pressure and kidney update 2014
Banach, M., Aronow, W. S., Șerban, M.-C., Sahabkar, A., Rysz, J., Voroneanu, L. E., & Covic, A. C. (2015) · Pharmacological Research · doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2015.03.009 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Self-citationLipid, blood pressure and kidney update 2013
Banach, M., Serban, C., Aronow, W. S., Rysz, J., Dragan, S. R., Lerma, E. V., Apetrii, M., & Covic, A. C. (2014) · International Urology and Nephrology · doi:10.1007/s11255-014-0657-6 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Self-citationStatin Therapy and New-onset Diabetes: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Relevance
Banach, M., Małodobra-Mazur, M., Gluba-Brzózka, A., Katsiki, N., Rysz, J., & Dobrzyń, A. (2013) · Current Pharmaceutical Design · doi:10.2174/1381612811319270014 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Self-citationTime for new indications for statins?
Banach, M., Mikhailidis, D. P., Kjeldsen, S. E., & Rysz, J. (2009) · PubMed · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Self-citationProprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin 9 Inhibitors
Dragan, S. R., Șerban, M.-C., & Banach, M. (2014) · Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics · doi:10.1177/1074248414539562 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Self-citationȘerban, M.-C., Sahebkar, A., Ursoniu, S., Mikhailidis, D. P., Rizzo, M., Lip, G. Y. H., Hovingh, G. K., Kastelein, J. J. P., Kalinowski, L., Rysz, J., et al. (2015) · Atherosclerosis · doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2015.04.962 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Self-citationGamboa, C. M., Safford, M. M., Levitan, E. B., Mann, D. M., Yun, H., Glasser, S. P., Woolley, J. M., Robert, R., Farkouh, M., & Muntner, P. (2014) · The American Journal of the Medical Sciences · doi:10.1097/maj.0000000000000292 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Kowalski, J., Barylski, M., Banach, M., et al. (2006) · Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology · doi:10.1097/01.fjc.0000246150.52382.07 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Self-citationMaking sense of health statistics
Gigerenzer, G. (2009) · Bulletin of the World Health Organization · doi:10.2471/blt.09.069872 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
A statin a day keeps the doctor away: comparative proverb assessment modelling study
Briggs, A. D. M., Mizdrak, A., & Scarborough, P. (2013) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.f7267 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Editorial Lipid-lowering therapies and achievement of LDL-cholesterol targets
Rizzo, M., Banach, M., Montalto, G., & Mikhailidis, D. P. (2012) · Archives of Medical Science · doi:10.5114/aoms.2012.30281 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Self-citationReview: Nutriceuticals as Antithrombotic Agents
Chakrabarti, S., & Freedman, J. E. (2010) · Cardiovascular Therapeutics · doi:10.1111/j.1755-5922.2010.00161.x · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Dorobanţu, M., Tautu, O.-F., Darabont, R., et al. (2015) · Archives of Medical Science · doi:10.5114/aoms.2015.53290 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Misinterpretation of trial evidence on statin adverse effects may harm patients
Golomb, B. A. (2014) · European Journal of Preventive Cardiology · doi:10.1177/2047487314533085 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Cicero, A. F. G., Colletti, A., Bajraktari, G., Descamps, O., Djuric, D. M., Ezhov, M., Fras, Z., Katsiki, N., Langlois, M., Latkovskis, G., et al. (2017) · Archives of Medical Science · doi:10.5114/aoms.2017.69326 · Cited by 281 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Role of Nutraceuticals in Statin Intolerant Patients
Banach, M., Patti, A. M., Giglio, R. V., Cicero, A. F. G., Atanasov, A. G., Bajraktari, G., Bruckert, E., Descamps, O., Djuric, D. M., Ezhov, M., et al. (2018) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.04.040 · Cited by 272 · see citing works
Self-citationCicero, A. F. G., Fogacci, F., Stoian, A. P., Vrablik, M., Al Rasadi, K., Banach, M., Toth, P. P., & Rizzo, M. (2021) · Current Atherosclerosis Reports · doi:10.1007/s11883-021-00955-y · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Self-citationPoLA/CFPiP/PCS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias for family physicians 2016
Banach, M., Jankowski, P., Jóźwiak, J., Cybulska, B., Windak, A., Guzik, T., Mamcarz, A., Broncel, M., & Tomasik, T. (2017) · Archives of Medical Science · doi:10.5114/aoms.2017.64712 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Self-citationCurcumin: an effective adjunct in patients with statin-associated muscle symptoms?
Sahebkar, A., Saboni, N., Pirro, M., & Banach, M. (2017) · Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle · doi:10.1002/jcsm.12140 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Self-citationDiscussion around statin discontinuation in older adults and patients with wasting diseases
Banach, M., & Serban, M. (2016) · Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle · doi:10.1002/jcsm.12109 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“They reduce the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and CVD mortality by about 25–30%.(2) That is one of the reasons why all current clinical guidelines ‘virtually mandate’ lifetime”
Schooling, C., Zhao, J., Au Yeung, S., & Leung, G. (2020) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.58567 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hobbs, F. R., Banach, M., Mikhailidis, D. P., Malhotra, A., & Capewell, S.
- Affiliations
- Medical University of Lodz (PL)
- The Royal Free Hospital (GB)
- Frimley Park Hospital (GB)
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Venue
- BMC Medicine
- Published
- 2016-01-14
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 4-4
- ISSN
- 1741-7015 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4714436
- OpenAlex
- W2238207260
- Cited by
- 76
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- BMC Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NF-SI-0611-10273)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
- Keywords
- statins, lipid-lowering therapy, cardiovascular disease prevention, statin safety, statin efficacy, pharmaceutical marketing, cardiovascular risk
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cardiovascular Diseases, Clinical Trials as Topic, Female, Humans, Lipids, Male, Neoplasms, Suicide, Attempted, Down-Regulation, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors, Lipid Metabolism, Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
