Older men who frequently use statins are more likely to engage in less physical activities than men who don't use the drug, a new study finds.
Statin use is very common among older adults. It is a class of drug that is used to lower cholesterol levels in the body. Though it may offer a string of health benefits, there may be some negative consequences of extensive statin use. Researchers from Oregon State University found that frequent use of the drug may lead to less physical activity among older men. This could be a serious problem because leading a sedentary lifestyle can be pretty harmful, especially for older adults.
"Physical activity in older adults helps to maintain a proper weight, prevent cardiovascular disease and helps to maintain physical strength and function," said David Lee, an assistant professor in the Oregon State University and lead author of the study, in a press statement. "We're trying to find ways to get older adults to exercise more, not less. It's a fairly serious concern if use of statins is doing something that makes people less likely to exercise."
The study was conducted on 3,071 community-living men, age 65 or older. They belonged to six different regions in the United States. An initial baseline study was conducted to measure physical activity among users and non-users of statins. After this, the participants were followed for seven years. Sometimes, the men were asked to wear accelerometers for a week so that researchers could track their level of activity by the minute. Researchers found that men who took statins engaged in 40 minutes less of moderate physical activities in a week than men who didn't take the drug. This is equal to a loss of 150 minutes of walking in a week.
"For an older population that's already pretty sedentary, that's a significant amount less exercise," Lee said. "Even moderate amounts of exercise can make a big difference."
Researchers noted that the largest drop in physical activity was observed among new statin users. Researchers also found an elevated risk of death from cardiovascular disease among the drug users, supporting previous studies that reported similar findings.
"Given these results, we should be aware of a possible decrease in physical activity among people taking a statin," Lee said. "This could decrease the benefit of the medication. If someone is already weak, frail, or sedentary, they may want to consider this issue, and consult with their doctor to determine if statin use is still appropriate."
This is not the only negative effect of statin that has been recently discovered. Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found that consuming high doses of statin increases the risk of diabetes. Researchers noted that 3,600 of the 137,000 study patients were diagnosed with diabetes within two years of starting the drug. It was also observed that people who took high doses of statin were 15 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than those who took low doses of the medication.
"This is not about stopping statins," lead author Colin R. Dormuth, from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, told Reuters Health. "These patients should be on a statin, the question is, should they be on a higher or a lower dose?"
Lee and his team were not able to determine the exact reason why men who used statin exercised less. However, they did have a few set of speculations. Firstly, men who take the medication experience muscle pain which may render them incapable of exercising frequently. Secondly, such men also feel weak, tired and less energetic.
Researchers also clarified that since the study was conducted only on older men, the findings cannot be generalized for older women too.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon. Findings were published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.
