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.

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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 found that taking statins to lower bad cholesterol by 1 mmol/L reduces deaths from heart and blood vessel problems by about 15% and overall deaths by 9% in people who never had heart disease — and doesn’t cause more deaths from other causes, which matches what the claim says.

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 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.

76

0

95%

Taking statins to lower your 'bad' cholesterol by a small amount can cut your chance of having a heart attack by nearly half—even if you're not at high risk for heart disease yet.

76

0

91%

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

90%

Taking statins can lower your bad cholesterol enough to cut your chance of needing heart surgery or stents by almost half—even if you're not at high risk for heart disease right now.

76

0

88%

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.

76

0

87%