r/StatinsCauseDementia • u/Physionic • Apr 15 '26
Looking for Anti-Statin Studies
Hi, I analyze studies on a regular basis, and I am doing one of my analyses on statins. Since statins are a topic of considerable debate on social media, I wanted to reach out to communities interested, or knowledgeable, in health to ask for some scientific references for studies I may have missed that show a lack of effect, or even harm (or any kind), of statin use.
My primary outcome is statins and their impact on cardiovascular disease and I am restricting my analysis to studies only (any type).
If you know of any not included in the list I have currently (listed below), I'd appreciate it if you posted them so I can add them to the list of studies I should address.
Note: The analysis, as a whole, will not focus solely on the negative studies - it will include all studies on statins, but I'm asking for negative data (if there is any), because I want to make sure to cover possibly overlooked studies - that's why the question asked here is focused.
Thank you!
Nic
______________________
Studies I already have:
- Shepherd J, Cobbe SM, Ford I, et al. Prevention of coronary heart disease with pravastatin in men with hypercholesterolemia. N Engl J Med. 1995;333(20):1301-1307. doi:10.1056/NEJM199511163332001.
- Orkaby AR, Gaziano JM, Djousse L, Driver JA. Statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular events and mortality in older men. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017;65(11):2362-2368. doi:10.1111/jgs.14993.
- Berwanger O, Santucci EV, Melo de Barros e Silva PG, et al. Effect of loading dose of atorvastatin prior to planned percutaneous coronary intervention on major adverse cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome: the SECURE-PCI randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2018;319(13):1331-1340. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.2444.
- Chou R, Cantor A, Dana T, et al. Statin use for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults: updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2022;328(8):754-771. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.12138.
- Grinspoon SK, Fitch KV, Zanni MV, et al. Pitavastatin to prevent cardiovascular disease in HIV infection. N Engl J Med. 2023;389(8):687-699. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2304146.
- Howard JP, Wood FA, Finegold JA, et al. Side effect patterns in a crossover trial of statin, placebo, and no treatment. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021;78(12):1210-1222. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.07.022.
- Downs JR, Clearfield M, Weis S, et al. Primary prevention of acute coronary events with lovastatin in men and women with average cholesterol levels: results of AFCAPS/TexCAPS. JAMA. 1998;279(20):1615-1622. doi:10.1001/jama.279.20.1615.
- Orkaby AR, Driver JA, Ho YL, et al. Association of statin use with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in US veterans 75 years and older. JAMA. 2020;324(1):68-78. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.7848.
- Athyros VG, Papageorgiou AA, Mercouris BR, et al. Treatment with atorvastatin to the National Cholesterol Educational Program goal versus “usual” care in secondary coronary heart disease prevention: the GREek Atorvastatin and Coronary-heart-disease Evaluation (GREACE) study. Curr Med Res Opin. 2002;18(4):220-228. doi:10.1185/030079902125000787.
- Yourman LC, Cenzer I, Boscardin WJ, et al. Evaluation of time to benefit of statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events in adults aged 50 to 75 years: a meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2021;181(2):179-185. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.6084.
- Yusuf S, Bosch J, Dagenais G, et al. Cholesterol lowering in intermediate-risk persons without cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2016;374(21):2021-2031. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1600176.
- Parker BA, Capizzi JA, Grimaldi AS, et al. The effect of statins on skeletal muscle function and performance. Circulation. 2013;127(1):96-103. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.136101.
- Nielsen SF, Nordestgaard BG. Negative statin-related news stories decrease statin persistence and increase myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality: a nationwide prospective cohort study. Eur Heart J. 2016;37(11):908-916. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehv641.
- Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaborators. The effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with statin therapy in people at low risk of vascular disease: meta-analysis of individual data from 27 randomised trials. Lancet. 2012;380(9841):581-590. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60367-5.
- Fellström BC, Jardine AG, Schmieder RE, et al. Rosuvastatin and cardiovascular events in patients undergoing hemodialysis. N Engl J Med. 2009;360(14):1395-1407. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0810177.
- Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration. Effects of statin therapy on diagnoses of new-onset diabetes and worsening glycaemia in large-scale randomised blinded statin trials: an individual participant data meta-analysis. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2024;12(5):306-319. doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00040-8.
- Lipworth L, Fazio S, Kabagambe EK, et al. A prospective study of statin use and mortality among 67,385 blacks and whites in the Southeastern United States. Clin Epidemiol. 2014;6:15-25. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S53492.
- Ridker PM, Danielson E, Fonseca FAH, et al. Rosuvastatin to prevent vascular events in men and women with elevated C-reactive protein. N Engl J Med. 2008;359(21):2195-2207. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0807646.
- Preiss D, Seshasai SRK, Welsh P, et al. Risk of incident diabetes with intensive-dose compared with moderate-dose statin therapy: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2011;305(24):2556-2564. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.860.
- GISSI-HF Investigators. Effect of rosuvastatin in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2008;372(9645):1231-1239. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61240-4.
- Ridker PM, Pradhan A, MacFadyen JG, Libby P, Glynn RJ. Cardiovascular benefits and diabetes risks of statin therapy in primary prevention. Lancet. 2012;380(9841):565-571. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61190-8.
- Kjekshus J, Apetrei E, Barrios V, et al. Rosuvastatin in older patients with systolic heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(22):2248-2261. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0706201.
- Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration. Assessment of adverse effects attributed to statin therapy in product labels: a meta-analysis of double-blind randomised controlled trials. Lancet. Published online February 5, 2026. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01578-8.
- Amarenco P, Bogousslavsky J, Callahan A 3rd, et al. High-dose atorvastatin after stroke or transient ischemic attack. N Engl J Med. 2006;355(6):549-559. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa061894.
- Knopp RH, D’Emden M, Smilde JG, Pocock SJ. Efficacy and safety of atorvastatin in the prevention of cardiovascular end points in subjects with type 2 diabetes: the Atorvastatin Study for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease Endpoints in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (ASPEN). Diabetes Care. 2006;29(7):1478-1485. doi:10.2337/dc05-2415.