Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
A study of statin research results published in the Lancet, showed some interesting conclusions:
First, the article points out this fact:
Of course, as the article points out, 50 high-risk men aged 30-69 years need to be treated for 5 years, to prevent one event.It should be noted that: "For adults aged between 30 and 80 years old who already have occlusive vascular disease, statins confer a total and cardiovascular mortality benefit t and are not controversial."
But then it goes on to say:
Their study of existing research trials concluded that:But the revised U.S. guidelines (2001) increased the target population to be treated with statins from 13 million to 36 million Americans. That increase offers huge economic implications for the manufacturers of
statins.
Our analysis suggests that lipid-lowering statins should not be prescribed for true primary prevention in women of any age or for men older than 69 years. High-risk men aged 30-69 years should be advised that about 50 patients need to be treated for 5 years to prevent one event. In our experience, many men presented with this evidence do not choose to take a statin, especially when informed of the potential benefi ts of lifestyle modification on cardiovascular risk and overall health.8
http://www.ahrp.org/cms/index2.php?opti ... f=1&id=432Why the disagreement?
The current guidelines are based on the assumption that cardiovascular risk is a continuum and that evidence of benefit in people with occlusive vascular disease (secondary prevention) can be extrapolated to primary prevention populations. This assumption, plus the assumption that cardiovascular risk can be accurately predicted, leads to the recommendation that a substantial proportion of the healthy population should be placed on statin therapy.
Tex
) 
