The risk of pancreatitis is low with statins, but not zero

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Pancreatitis is a rare side effect of statin use, according to a new review.
Statins are drugs which lower cholesterol and so reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. They are generally very safe but there have been reports of some people developing pancreatitis - a painful and occasionally fatal inflammation of the pancreas. Since millions of people take statins long-term, and these numbers are likely to increase, researchers have reviewed the pancreatitis risk.

Dr Sonal Singh of Wake Forest University and colleagues checked out 33 reports of statin-induced pancreatitis. They found that all statins can cause pancreatitis and that it can happen on both high and low doses. Pancreatitis tends to occur after a patient has been on statins for some time. Most cases were mild - there were five deaths, however. Overall, the risk of pancreatitis on statins goes up by 40 per cent, but this must be put into context. The risk is still very low - out of every 300,000 people taking statins for a year, only one will develop pancreatitis.

Source
Drug Safety December 2006

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