Statin treatment and cataract

A prospective open cohort study has examined and quantified the unintended risks and benefits of statins in a large representative primary care population over a six year period.

With respect to risk of cataracts associated with statin treatment the results revealed:

• statin use was associated with an increased risk of cataract in both men and women, apart from fluvastatin in men, owing to small numbers in the analysis
• no significant difference between the effects of individual statins in men (P=0.32) or in women (P=0.82)
• no evidence of a dose-response relation
• risk was significantly increased within a year of starting statins, persisted during treatment, and returned to normal within the first year after stopping treatment
• number needed to harm (NNH) for cataract was 33 (28 to 38)

Reference:

• 1) Hippisley-Cox J, Coupland C. Unintended effects of statins in men and women in England and Wales: population based cohort study using the QResearch database. BMJ 2010;340:c2197