ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2016
Impact of statin related media coverage on use of statins: interrupted time series analysis with UK primary care data.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
94 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Assessment of adverse effects attributed to statin therapy in product labels: a meta-analysis of double-blind randomised controlled trials.Lancet (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Associations between statins and adverse events in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review with pairwise, network, and dose-response meta-analyses.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021 · on this mapPooled it
- Proportion of High-Risk/Very High-Risk Patients in Europe with Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol at Target According to European Guidelines: A Systematic Review.Advances in therapy · 2020Pooled it
- Association is not causation: treatment effects cannot be estimated from observational data in heart failure.European heart journal · 2018Pooled it
- Causal language and strength of inference in academic and media articles shared in social media (CLAIMS): A systematic review.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- The effect of statins on muscle symptoms in primary care: the StatinWISE series of 200 N-of-1 RCTs.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2021Trial
- Statin treatment and muscle symptoms: series of randomised, placebo controlled n-of-1 trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Claims of causality in health news: a randomised trial.BMC medicine · 2019Trial
- Lack of effects of simvastatin on smoking cessation in humans: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study.Scientific reports · 2018Trial
- Pattern of risks of rheumatoid arthritis among patients using statins: A cohort study with the clinical practice research datalink.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Digital Educational Strategies to Implement Evidence-Based Care for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026Review
- Trends and inequalities in statin use for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease between 2009 and 2021 in England: a series of cross-sectional and cohort studies.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Metabolic Risk-attributable Burden of Peripheral Arterial Disease across Socioeconomic Regions: Insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Current cardiology reviews · 2026Review
- Cardiovascular outcomes associated with incident diabetes during statin therapy: a nationwide propensity-matched cohort study.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2025Article
- Numerate people are less likely to be biased by regular science reporting: the critical roles of scientific reasoning and causal misunderstanding.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2025Article
- Article
- Lipid Lowering Therapy Utilization and Lipid Goal Attainment in Women.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2025Review
- Learnings from Implementation Strategies to Improve Lipid Management.Current cardiology reports · 2025Review
- Perceptions and Knowledge of Cholesterol and Lipid-Lowering Medications Among Treatment-Naive Individuals: A Cross-Sectional Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2025Article
34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo quantify how a period of intense media coverage of controversy over the risk:benefit balance of statins affected their use.
designInterrupted time series analysis of prospectively collected electronic data from primary care.
settingClinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) in the United Kingdom.
participantsPatients newly eligible for or currently taking statins for primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention in each month in January 2011-March 2015.
main outcome measuresAdjusted odds ratios for starting/stopping taking statins after the media coverage (October 2013-March 2014).
resultsThere was no evidence that the period of high media coverage was associated with changes in statin initiation among patients with a high recorded risk score for cardiovascular disease (primary prevention) or a recent cardiovascular event (secondary prevention) (odds ratio 0.99 (95% confidence interval 0.87 to 1.13; P=0.92) and 1.04 (0.92 to 1.18; P=0.54), respectively), though there was a decrease in the overall proportion of patients with a recorded risk score. Patients already taking statins were more likely to stop taking them for both primary and secondary prevention after the high media coverage period (1.11 (1.05 to 1.18; P<0.001) and 1.12 (1.04 to 1.21; P=0.003), respectively). Stratified analyses showed that older patients and those with a longer continuous prescription were more likely to stop taking statins after the media coverage. In post hoc analyses, the increased rates of cessation were no longer observed after six months.
conclusionsA period of intense public discussion over the risks:benefit balance of statins, covered widely in the media, was followed by a transient rise in the proportion of people who stopped taking statins. This research highlights the potential for widely covered health stories in the lay media to impact on healthcare related behaviour.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.