Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41962123›Full record

Observational studyJournal of medical Internet research2026

Large Language Model-Based Analysis of Statin Therapy Discussions and Sentiment on Social Media: Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

Siru Liu, Jialin Liu

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of medical Internet research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Siru LiuDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2525 West End Ave #1475, Nashville, TN, 610041, United States, 1 615-875-5216.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5003-5354
Jialin LiuDepartment of Medical Informatics, West China Medical School, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1369-4625

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Statin therapy, despite proven cardiovascular benefits, remains underused. Social media platforms may capture patient perspectives that are less visible in clinical encounters. Objective: This study aimed to characterize themes, sentiment, and decision-making factors related to statin therapy through large language model (LLM)-based analysis of Reddit discussions. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study analyzed English-language Reddit posts and comments mentioning statins from January 2022 to May 2025, identified via keyword-based Reddit application programming interface searches (≤1000 posts per keyword). A total of 5328 retrieved discussions (n=1661, 31.2% posts and n=3667, 68.8% keyword-containing comments) from public subreddits were included. Themes, sentiments (positive, neutral, or negative), guideline-informed clinical relevance, information-seeking behavior, adverse effect mentions, decision factors, and adherence-related content were extracted using an LLM-based pipeline. Results: Among 5328 discussions, prominent topics included adverse effects (n=1697, 31.9%), decision-making references related to laboratory results and physician advice (n=2767, 51.9% and n=2034, 38.2%, respectively), and alternative approaches (n=2485, 46.6%). Overall sentiment was neutral in 34% (n=1812) of discussions, negative in 30.9% (n=1646), and positive in 16.9% (n=900); the remainder were mixed or unclear. Statin-directed sentiment was neutral in 44.1% (n=2350) of discussions, negative in 25.2% (n=1343), and positive in 12.5% (n=666); the remainder did not express statin-directed sentiment. High clinical relevance was identified in 12.6% (n=672) of discussions. Adherence-related issues were mentioned in 29.8% (n=1587) of discussions. Among adverse effect mentions, muscle pain (n=129, 7.6%) and fatigue (n=110, 6.5%) were common. Conclusions: LLM-enabled analysis of Reddit discourse highlights substantial negative sentiment, adherence-related concerns, and adverse effect narratives surrounding statin therapy. These findings suggest opportunities for patient-centered communication and shared decision-making strategies that address symptom attribution, uncertainty, and information needs in digital information environments.

Indexed as

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase InhibitorsLarge Language ModelsSocial MediaCross-Sectional StudiesHumansHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitorsadherenceadverse effectscardiovascular diseasecohort studylarge language modelpatient perspectivesRedditsentiment analysissocial mediastatin therapy

Identifiers

PMID41962123
PMCPMC13068305

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.