What are the risks of statins for healthy people who do not have high LDL cholesterol?
Neither Crestor nor other statins are without risk. This means that these risks should be weighed carefully against expected benefits. Statins are linked to a number of minor side effects. They also are linked to a rare but serious side effect: muscle breakdown. In its mildest form, this appears as myositis, a painful inflammation of the muscles. A muscle enzyme called CPK may build up in the blood. The most serious form of muscle breakdown is rhabdomyolysis, in which muscles all over the body become painful and weak. A flood of muscle proteins collects in the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure and death. Another troubling problem linked to statin use is an increased risk of diabetes. This risk became apparent in the JUPITER trial, in which more individuals taking Crestor developed diabetes than those taking placebo. A 2010 analysis of statin clinical trials suggests that increased diabetes risk is linked to all statins, not just Crestor. It appears to occur more often in patients
