Using statins for over five years seems to lower risk for osteoarthritis knee pain

People with osteoarthritis who used statins for more than five years, as well as those who used atorvastatin, had a reduced risk of knee pain, according to interesting findings in Arthritis Care & Research.

A total of 4,448 adults who had (or were at risk of) knee osteoarthritis were involved in the study, of whom 25% used statins. Analysis of the data showed that:

• Any statin use was not linked to a lower risk for worsening pain;
• Statin use was not associated with progression of knee osteoarthritis;
• But more than five years of statin use was associated with a reduced risk for pain as was the use of atorvastatin;
• Rosuvastatin use was associated with a greater risk for pain.

“Our data suggest that, overall, any statin use was not associated with a lower risk of pain worsening, radiographic and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis due to knee osteoarthritis in this large cohort of North American people,” the research group comments “However, people using statins for more than five years and those using atorvastatin reported beneficial effects on pain worsening, whilst people taking rosuvastatin reported an increased risk for pain worsening.”

Click here to read the original findings.

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