Statins appear to harm about as many people as they help
When I was at medical school I remember being lectured on the wonders of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). I was distinctly taught, and without reservation, that women taking HRT had a lower risk of heart disease compared to women ‘going without’. This ‘fact’ turned out to be complete rubbish. Subsequent evidence revealed that HRT actually has the capacity to increase risk of heart disease. How could we have got it so wrong? The initial ‘evidence’ on HRT was epidemiological in nature, which meant that it looked at the relationship between HRT/non-HRT use in a population and risk of cardiovascular disease. One fundamental potential problem with these studies relates to what is known as the ‘healthy user’ effect. In short, what this means is that healthier individuals are more likely to be prescribed a drug than sicker people who may already be on multiple medications and prone to side-effects and interactions. So, any ‘benefit’ seen to be associated with a drug may have nothing to do w...