Statins Make Exercising Harder

Statins, among the most widely prescribed drugs on the very wide market, take a bite out of more than your cholesterol count. According to research conducted at UC San Diego School of Medicine, they also can knock down your energy level, particularly during exercise. A UC San Diego news release reports that researchers at the school gave pravastatin (Pravachol) at 40mg, or simvastatin (Zocor) at 20mg, or a placebo to more than 1,000 people, then asked the three groups to rate their energy and fatigue with exertion relative to baseline, on a five-point scale, from “much worse” to “much better.” The researchers found that people placed on statins were significantly more likely than those on placebo to report worsening in energy, fatigue-with-exertion, or both. Both statins contributed to the finding, though the effect appeared to be stronger in those on simvastatin. (Simvastatin led to significantly greater cholesterol reduction.) “Energy is central to quality of life. It also predicts interest in activity,” said lead author Beatrice Golomb. “Exertional fatigue not only predicts actual participation in exercise, but both lower energy and greater exertional fatigue may signal triggering of mechanisms by which statins may adversely affect cell health.” Read more from UC San Diego.