Influence of Baseline Psychological Health on Muscle Pain During Atorvastatin Treatment.
Amanda L Zaleski, Beth A Taylor, Linda S Pescatello and 3 others
PMID 27870723WHAT IT FOUND
Baseline depression and wellbeing did not predict muscle pain during six months of high-dose statin therapy.
Both statin and placebo groups reported increased pain, but psychological health at the start of treatment was not linked to who developed symptoms.
Key findings
01Baseline depression and wellbeing scores were not significant predictors of pain changes or statin-associated muscle symptoms after six months of treatment.
02Both the statin and placebo groups experienced an increase in muscle pain over six months, but there was no significant difference between the groups.
03Among the small subset of participants who met the strict definition for statin-associated muscle symptoms, baseline depression and wellbeing scores were similar to those who did not develop symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a post-hoc analysis of a small subset (n=83) of a larger trial, not the primary aim of the original study. The participants were generally healthy with low levels of depression and high wellbeing at baseline, so the findings may not apply to patients with clinical depression. The study population was limited to healthy adults, excluding those with existing cardiovascular disease or other comorbidities.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were declared for the remaining authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that psychological health never affects statin pain. The study population had very low levels of depression and high wellbeing, so this null finding may not apply to patients with diagnosed mental health conditions.