Did You Know? Analysis Cautions against Wider Use of Statins

Analysis Cautions against Wider Use of Statins: There is not enough evidence to recommend the widespread use of statins in people with no previous history of heart disease, scientists said last week. In a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library journal, researchers said the cholesterol-lowering drugs should be prescribed “with caution” for those at low risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In a review of 14 trials involving 34,272 patients, they also found that all but one trial were industry-sponsored, a finding they said meant the overall results could be “limited by unclear, selective and potentially biased reporting.”