Does statin therapy initiation increase the risk for myopathy?
Background: Estimates of myopathy rates in the literature are based on adverse events reported in clinical trials, which may not be representative of the clinical practice setting. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of myopathic events, particularly myalgia, myositis, and rhabdomyolysis in a community-based practice among a cohort of subjects with or without diabetes, some of whom received statin treatment. Methods: In this retrospective data analysis, we identified members of a health maintenance organization (HMO) who initiated statin treatment between 1997 and 2004 and classified them into 2 groups: those subjects with diabetes and those without. We matched them to an equal number of health plan members based on age group, diabetes diagnosis, and year of health plan enrollment. We defined 4 levels of myopathic events according to the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s
