Do Statins Really Cause Memory Loss?

Forget what you’ve heard about statins causing memory loss. A new study suggested that all lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs) can induce acute memory issues or, perhaps more likely, the association of forgetfulness with statin use is the result of a detection bias.

The retrospective comparison of 482,543 statins users and a matching number of nonusers of any LLDs showed users were four times more likely to experience memory loss during the first month of exposure to the meds. A further comparison of all statins users with 26,484 individuals who were on non-statin LLDs showed statins users had only a slight increase in memory loss during the initial 30 days of therapy. When the researchers compared the users of non-statin LLDs with an equal number of nonusers, the users were also at increased risk of short-term memory loss.

Atorvastatin and simvastatin were implicated in the increased risk of memory loss, according to the researchers. They reported that simvastatin, which was prescribed to 75% of statin users in the study, is likely to blame for most statin-related memory issues because it’s heavily prescribed to combat cardiovascular events. As expected, noted the researchers, statins with the highest lipophilicity levels increased risk of memory loss the most. They also reported that memory issues increased in line with escalating statin doses.

The ability of statins to reduce beta-Amyloid plaque buildup in the brain that’s caused by high cholesterol and associated with dementia has resulted in long-term memory benefit, according to the study. On the other hand, said the researchers, it has been suggested that simvastatin and atorvastatin can cross the blood-brain barrier to inhibit myelin production and negatively impact memory function.

Which theory is correct? The apparent short-term memory loss associated with statins is misleading, according to study lead author Dr. Brian Strom, chancellor of biomedical and health sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

“When patients are put on statins, or any new drug, they’re seen more often by their doctors, or they themselves are paying attention to whether anything is wrong,” he said. “So if they have a memory problem, they’re going to notice it. Even if it has nothing to do with the drug, they’re going to blame it on the drug.”

Dr. Strom wanted to reassure patients and healthcare providers about statin use. “This is a very effective therapy, which is very safe,” he explained. “It has an opportunity to dramatically reduce heart disease in the country. People shouldn’t steer away from the drug because of false fears of memory problems.

“People who have high cholesterol should be on statins,” he emphasized.

The study was published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.

—Dan Cook

Reference:

1. Strom BL, Schinnar R, Karlawish J, Hennessy S, Teal V, Bilker WB. Statin therapy and risk of acute memory impairment. JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Jun 8.