Statin medications — such as Zocor, Lipitor, Lescol, Pravachol and Crestor — used to lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease may have a side effect of increasing the risk of cataracts.
That’s the finding of a large study of adult men and women published recently in British Medical Journal. Researchers studied more than 2 million patients at 368 general practices in England and Wales. All patients were between the ages of 30 and 84, and 225,922 (10.7 percent) were new users of statins.
The objective of the study was to quantify unintended effects of the use of statin medications, according to type, dose and duration of use.
The researchers found that each statin studied was associated with an increased risk of cataract in both men and women (apart from Leschol in men due to the small number of men in the study taking this medication).
The mean increased risk of cataract formation ranged from from 25 percent to 56 percent among male and female patients being treated with Zocor, Lipitor, Pravachol and Crestor.
A direct comparison test showed no significant difference between the effects of individual statins in men or in women, and there was no evidence of greater risk of cataract with higher doses compared with lower doses.
Risk of cataract was significantly increased within one year of starting statin treatment, persisted during treatment, and returned to normal within the first year after stopping treatment.
The results of this study suggest patients taken statins should be proactively monitored for cataract formation with routine eye exams by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
The outcomes of this study contradict results of a previous Israeli study that found statins may reduce cataract risk among men and women age 45 to 54.
SOURCE: Unintended effects of statins in men and women in England and Wales: population based cohort study using the QResearch database. British Medical Journal (BMJ). May 20, 2010.
Tags: cardiovascular disease, medications, statins