A new study has come out that refutes previous studies that vitamin D relieves muscle pain and muscle melting side effects that can occur when taking statins.
In actual clinical trials involving 2,000 patients, vitamin D did not show any effect in preventing statin-related muscle symptoms and stopping statin administration due to side effects.
The results of a study on the effect of vitamin D administration on statin muscle side effects conducted by Professor Mark A. Hlatky of Stanford Medical School in the United States were published in the international journal JAMA on the 23rd (doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2022.4250).
The representative side effects of statins, a treatment for dyslipidemia, include the occurrence of new diabetes, muscle pain, and muscle melting. Statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) are common, leading to discontinuation of statin therapy in many cases.
In a prior observational study, it was reported that muscle-related side effects were alleviated when statin and vitamin D were used together.
A double-blind clinical trial was conducted in which men aged 50 years or older and women aged 55 years or older without cancer or cardiovascular disease who were taking statins were randomly divided into a vitamin D supplement group (2000 IU per day, n=1033) and a placebo group (n=1050). did.
The primary study endpoint was number of days of muscle pain or discomfort, and the secondary was discontinuation of statin therapy due to SAMS.
As a result of the analysis, during a follow-up period of 4.8 years, muscle-related side effects occurred in 317 (31%) patients in the vitamin D group and 325 (31%) patients in the placebo group, showing no statistically significant difference.
When the participants’ serum vitamin D concentration (25-OHD) was divided into three groups: 30 ng/mL or more, 20-30 ng/mL, and less than 20 ng/mL, there was no significant difference in the incidence of side effects.
“Vitamin D supplementation did not prevent statin-related muscle side effects or reduce the risk of discontinuation of statin treatment due to them,” the researchers said. “These results were consistent when grouped by serum vitamin D concentration.”
