Scientists from Northwestern University and Harvard and Stanford universities in the USA found that vitamin D did not help with muscle soreness caused by taking statins to lower cholesterol. The research was published in the journal JAMA Cardiology.
30-35 million people in the US take statins to lower their cholesterol levels, which are highly effective drugs for reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Often patients complain of muscle pain while taking these drugs, and some doctors recommend vitamin D to relieve muscle pain. Pain sometimes causes patients to stop taking statins, so it’s important to know what ways people can get relief from the side effects.
In a randomized, double-blind study, 2,083 participants took 2,000 units of vitamin D per day or a placebo. Over a period of approximately five years, 31% of participants taking vitamin D and 31% of participants taking placebo reported statin-induced muscle pain.
The new study is the first high-quality, randomized clinical trial of vitamin D with statins. Previously, low-quality publications had reported that vitamin D is an effective treatment for muscle symptoms associated with statins.