Taking statins to lower your 'bad' cholesterol by about 39 mg/dL can reduce your risk of dying from any cause by 9%, and it doesn’t make you more likely to die from cancer or other non-heart problems.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

76

Community contributions welcome

76

The effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with statin therapy in people at low risk of vascular disease: meta-analysis of individual data from 27 randomised trials

Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Human

This big study checked if taking statins to lower bad cholesterol helps people without heart disease live longer — and it did, by about 9% per drop of 1 mmol/L in cholesterol. It also found no increase in cancer or other unrelated deaths, just like the claim said.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

The effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with statin therapy in people at low risk of vascular disease: meta-analysis of individual data from 27 randomised trials

Score: 76

DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60367-5

Similar Assertions

Taking statins to lower your 'bad' cholesterol by about 1 point (in mmol/L) can cut your risk of dying from heart problems by 12% and your overall risk of dying by 9%, without raising your risk of dying from other causes like cancer or accidents.

76

0

95%

Taking statins to lower your 'bad' cholesterol by about 1 point (in mmol/L) can cut your chances of having a heart attack by nearly 40%, even if you're not at high risk for heart disease yet.

76

0

89%

If you're at low risk for heart problems and take a statin to lower your 'bad' cholesterol by a small amount, you're about 11% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next five years — out of 1000 people like you, roughly 11 fewer will have a major heart or blood vessel problem.

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0

87%

Taking statins to lower your 'bad' cholesterol by just a little bit can cut your chance of having a stroke by about a quarter—even if you're not at high risk to begin with—and this help comes mostly from preventing strokes caused by blood clots, not brain bleeds.

76

0

87%

Taking statins to lower your 'bad' cholesterol by a specific amount can cut your chance of having a heart attack or stroke by about 1 in 5—even if you’ve never had heart problems before and are considered low risk.

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87%