by Dr John Briffa
The Cholesterol Truth

Excerpts:

I am sometimes asked about the ‘benefits’ of statins, and whether these differ for women compared to men or, say, older individuals compared to younger ones. I decided to look for evidence that addresses these questions, and came across an article in the Lancet medical journal which does just that [1]. In this review, the researchers, from Harvard Medical School in the US, focus their attention on cholesterol treatment guidelines introduced in 2001, which led to a near-tripling in the number of people recommended to take statins (from 13 million to 36 million). The authors ask if these guidelines are ‘evidence-based’.

According to the authors of the review: ‘Our analysis suggests that lipid-lowering statins should not be prescribed for true primary prevention in women of any age or for men older than 69 years.’ They go on to add: ‘High-risk men aged 30–69 years should be advised that about 50 patients need to be treated for 5 years to prevent one event. In our experience, many men presented with this evidence do not choose to take a statin, especially when informed of the potential benefits of lifestyle modification on cardiovascular risk and overall health. This approach, based on the best available evidence in the appropriate population, would lead to statins being used by a much smaller proportion of the overall population than recommended by any of the guidelines.’

Read the Full Article Here: http://www.thecholesteroltruth.com/how-countless-people-are-taking-statins-needl