Singh Harmanjit, Chakrawarti Avinash, Guruprasad P, Singh Harjit, Gupta Yogendra Kumar
Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Department of Geriatric Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Niger Postgrad Med J. 2016 Oct-Dec;23(4):202-208. doi: 10.4103/1117-1936.196262.
Statins are the most widely used agents for the treatment of dyslipidaemias in geriatric patients. Muscle-related adverse effects (MRAE) are one of the most common toxicities of statins. Female gender has been mentioned as the risk factor for the development of MRAE of statins; however, there are inconclusive data regarding the difference in the occurrence of MRAE among male and female geriatric users.
The main objective was to find the difference in the occurrence of MRAE of statins among male and female geriatric statin users.
In this cross-sectional, observational, comparative study, relevant patient information and MRAE associated with statin use were noted. Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels were obtained for all patients as this is considered as the marker for statin-induced muscle damage. The parameters were compared among male and female geriatric statin users.
172 geriatric patients (86 male and 86 female statin users) were enrolled in the study. 38 (22%) geriatric statin users were found to have MRAE and significantly more number of female patients had MRAE as compared to male patients (25 vs. 13 P = 0.02). Significantly more number of female patients had elevated CPK as compared to male patients (20 vs. 8, P = 0.01). No significant difference was observed in CPK levels among male and female statin users.
Statin-induced MRAE tend to occur with more frequency in geriatric female patients as compared to male geriatric patients; however, further research in the form of prospective studies is warranted.
