According to an article by the BBC, new research funded by the Imperial Heart Foundation indicates that a significant portion of statins’ adverse side effects are attributable to the “nocebo” effect.
Statins are one of the most prescribed tablets in the UK, used to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides levels, and raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The effects help prevent heart attacks and stroke, but nearly a fifth of patients stop taking them due to side effects such as joint pain, muscle ache, fatigue and nausea. In 60 patients were recruited, who had all stopped taking statins due to their adverse effects. On a scale of 0 to 100, those taking placebo tablets reported a similarly high score (15.4) to those taking statins (16.3), compared to a group receiving no tablets (8). The effect was so strong that many patients discontinued the dummy pills.
The nocebo effect is the inverse of the placebo effect, where patients experience adverse effects even when they are taking a placebo. This is thought to explain why there is such a high prevalence of penicillin allergies when testing proves otherwise.
Once the patients were talked through the nocebo effect, most were able to resume statins. It is not known as to why statins have such a powerful nocebo effect, although some attribute this to media creating a “self-fulfilling destiny”.
“If you stopped a man in the street and asked how do you feel about an aspirin or a statin a day, I think people would be much more positive about the aspirin,” said one of the researchers, Dr James Howard.
