Cholesterol-lowering drugs were associated with memory loss in the first 30 days people started taking the medication, but new data suggests "that risk may not be real," Times reported.
Acute memory loss associated with the use of statins has been described in case reports and case studies, as well as in some studies, but the findings have been inconsistent and studies of long-term use of statins have found either improved memory or no effect.
For the study, researchers compared 482,543 statin users with two control groups: 482,543 nonusers of any lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs) and 26,484 users of nonstatin LLDs (for example, cholestyramine, colestipol hydrochloride, colesevelam, clofibrate, gemfibrozil, fenofibrate and niacin). The authors also conducted a secondary case-crossover study. Diagnostic codes were used to gather data on memory loss.
They found that there was an increased risk of memory loss during the 30 days following the start of the medication, as well as increased risk in the first 30 days when comparing users of nonstatin LLDs with nonusers. That association was not there when comparing statins vs. nonstatin LLDs.
"This finding suggests that either all LLDs cause acute memory loss, or perhaps more likely, that the association is the results of detection bias," the study concludes.
Detection bias is the higher likelihood that memory loss will be ascertained in patients receiving preventive therapies, such as cholesterol-lowering medications, because they have increased contact with their physician.
Based on the findings, researchers concluded that cholesterol drugs do impair memory for a short time, but these effects "tend to disappear over the long term," Time reported.'
"People should not steer away from statins because of a fear of short-term memory problems, because they probably are not real," researcher Brian Storm told Time.
The findings are detailed in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
