6 February 2026

Review Finds Statin Side Effects May Be Overstated

A comprehensive review of large clinical trials and observational studies has found that many side effects commonly attributed to statin medications, including memory loss, cognitive impairment and sexual dysfunction, are not consistently supported by the bulk of scientific evidence, suggesting that these adverse effects may be overstated or influenced by reporting biases rather than caused directly by the drugs; the analysis, which synthesised data from multiple high-quality sources, reinforces the strong evidence that statins remain a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention, significantly lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke for millions of patients with a safety profile that outweighs previously perceived harms.