Statins
Statins: the highs and the lows
Dawn Connelly
Corresponding AuthorDawn Connelly is an award-winning features editor at the Pharmaceutical Journal. She has worked in both hospital and community pharmacy and has over 10 years of experience in pharmacy journalism. In 2015, Dawn took the Data Journalism prize for an impressive info-graphic charting The Ebola virus outbreak.
Negative press seems to follow statins, the most prescribed drugs in England, despite them revolutionising cardiovascular disease prevention.
You can view the full infographic here.
Figure 1: A decade of dispensing
Source: NHS Digital
Almost 70 million prescription items for statins were dispensed in England in 2017, up from 44 million a decade ago. However, the cost has fallen over the same period from £506m to £316m.
Figure 2: Benefits versus risks
Source: Lancet 2016;388:2532
Data from two decades of studies show that the benefits of statins outweigh their risks, particularly for those at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Figure 3: Trials and tribulations
From their discovery in 1976, statins have had a rollercoaster ride. Their efficacy in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease has been proven in numerous studies, but their safety profile has also come under scrutiny, peaking in 2013 when two articles in the BMJ questioned their risk benefit ratio in low-risk individuals, sparking a media storm
Citation: The Pharmaceutical Journal DOI: 10.1211/PJ.2018.20205512
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