The use of statins does not lead to aggravation of complaints such as muscle pain and fatigue after walking. There is also no extra degree of muscle damage, according to research by Radboudumc among participants in the Nijmegen 4 Days. These findings show that statin users can lead a physically active lifestyle. This contributes to the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs that are used daily by more than one and a half million Dutch people. They are among the most commonly prescribed drugs. Statins lower blood cholesterol, which lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, they also have side effects, of which muscle pain and fatigue are the best known.
Whether these complaints are exacerbated by moderately intensive exercise was unknown until now. Researchers at Radboud university medical center are now answering this question. Hundred walkers of the Nijmegen 4 Days participated in the study of muscle complaints. They formed three groups: participants without statins, participants with statins and without muscle complaints, and participants with statins and with muscle complaints. They were followed prior to and during the Four Days Week by means of blood tests and questionnaires.
No more complaints with cholesterol reducers
It turns out that statins did not exacerbate muscle damage and muscle complaints after a day of walking. This was not the case even after three days of walking. First author Eline Allard of the Department of Physiology at Radboudumc: ‘Everyone develops mild muscle damage and complaints such as fatigue and muscle pain after a day of walking 30, 40 or 50 kilometres. We measure muscle damage on the basis of signal substances in the blood that indicate damage to the muscles. The more of these signaling substances in the blood, the more damage. In this study we investigated both damage to skeletal muscles, which are part of movements, and damage to the heart muscle.’
The researchers wanted to know whether more damage and complaints occurred in people who use statins. That turned out not to be the case. ‘Although the scores for muscle pain and fatigue before walking were higher in the people on statins who already had such complaints prior to the Four Days Marches, the increase in complaints and muscle damage after exercise was comparable between the groups,’ says Allard. This means that this long-term moderate-intensity exercise is also safe for statin users.
Principal researcher and professor of Physiology Maria Hopman has been conducting research during the 4Daagse in Nijmegen for many years. In 2023 even for the fifteenth year. She adds: ‘We know that an active lifestyle contributes to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. It is good news that statin users can safely walk the Four Days Marches. I certainly encourage people to maintain an active lifestyle. Walking can make a huge contribution to that!’
About this publication
This article appeared in Journal of American College of Cardiology: Prolonged Moderate-Intensity Exercise Does Not Increase Muscle Injury Markers in Symptomatic or Asymptomatic Statin Users – Neeltje AE Allard, Lando Janssen, Bart Lagerwaard, Malou AH Nuijten, Coen CWG Bongers, Richard J. Rodenburg, Paul D. Thompson, Thijs MH Eijsvogels, Willem JJ Assendelft, Tom JJ Schirris, Silvie Timmers, Maria TE Hopman. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023 Apr, 81 (14) 1353–1364.
