The Study
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol response after statin initiation among persons living with human immunodeficiency virus.
This study looked at people with HIV who started taking statins and saw that some had big drops in bad cholesterol, while others didn’t. It tells us which groups were more likely to see a drop — like people who started with very high cholesterol — but it can’t prove the statin caused the drop because no one was randomly assigned to take it or not.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Statins usually lower bad cholesterol a lot, but in people with HIV, they often don't work as well — even when taken at the same dose.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 559 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you have HIV and take a statin, you're less likely to get the expected cholesterol benefit, especially if your cholesterol wasn't extremely high to begin with, or if you're Black.
- 2Only 34 out of 100 people with HIV got a big drop in bad cholesterol (≥30%).
- 3Those starting with very high cholesterol (≥190 mg/dL) had a 59% chance of success.
- 4African Americans were less likely to respond than white people.
- 5Nearly 4 in 10 people started statins without a clear medical reason.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of clinical lipidology
Year
2018
Authors
G. Burkholder, P. Muntner, Hong Zhao, M. Mugavero, E. Overton, M. Kilgore, D. Drozd, H. Crane, R. Moore, W. C. Mathews, E. Geng, S. Boswell, Michelle Floris-Moore, R. Rosenson
Related Content
Claims (5)
Statins, which are prescription drugs, can lower your 'bad' cholesterol by about half, while berberine, a natural supplement, only lowers it a little bit — so statins work much better.
People with HIV don’t respond as well to cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins as healthy people do—even when they take the same dose. Their bad cholesterol only drops by about 17%, and only about 1 in 3 reach the goal of a 30% drop.
Only about 1 in 10 people with HIV are given the strongest cholesterol-lowering pills, and even when they are, those stronger pills don’t seem to work any better at lowering bad cholesterol than weaker ones—so doctors might not be prescribing them in the best way.
If you have HIV and your 'bad' cholesterol is already really high (190 or more), you're much more likely to see a big drop in it after starting a statin pill than someone whose reason for taking statins isn't clear — so your starting cholesterol level might tell doctors how well the medicine will work for you.
About 4 in 10 people with HIV are being given cholesterol-lowering pills even though they don’t clearly need them by current medical rules—meaning doctors might be prescribing them too often or not checking the guidelines properly.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.