Statins are one of the most popular drugs. They reduce serum lipids implicated in producing cardiac and vascular disease. Statins have side effects and are well-known, such as liver disease and muscle pain. Now a new side effect has been discovered.
Statin therapy significantly elevates the risk of developing cataracts severe enough to warrant surgery, suggests analyses of two distinct cohorts, one from Canada and another from the US.
For now, the possibility of such a risk from statins and its potential mechanisms should be explored in prospective trials, "especially in light of increased statin use for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and the importance of acceptable vision in old age, when cardiovascular disease is common," according to the report, published in the December 2014 issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology with lead author Dr Stephanie J Wise (University of British Columbia, Vancouver).
"However, because the relative risk is low and because cataract surgery is effective and well tolerated, this association should be disclosed but not be considered a deterrent to use of statins when warranted for cardiovascular risk reduction," they write.
"For those of us who have prescribed high doses of statins for almost 3 decades, there is certainly no epidemic of cataracts among our longtime lipid-clinic patients," write Drs Steven E Gryn and Robert A Hegele (Western University, London, ON) in an accompanying editorial in the same journal.
"Nevertheless, if the findings of Wise et al are confirmed, physicians might need to factor in this potential risk when discussing statin use with patients," they continue.
And, in patients at high CV risk, "the prevention of CVD, stroke, and their associated morbidity and mortality vastly outweighs the risk of cataracts. Even among lower-risk patients, for whom the benefit/risk ratio is less dramatic, most patients would still probably prefer having to undergo earlier non–life-threatening cataract surgery over suffering a major vascular event."
