High cholesterol is a ‘silent killer’ and one of the biggest health problems affecting the world today. According to the CDC, around 86 million US adults have elevated cholesterol levels, putting them at an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and heart disease.
The problem isn’t cholesterol itself. The fatty, wax-like substance is mainly produced in our livers and is actually essential for many bodily functions, such as building cells, making hormones, and supporting digestion.
The problems come when a person has too much of a ‘bad’ type of cholesterol, called low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
When LDL levels rise – due to a mix of genetics and unhealthy habits such as a diet high in saturated fat, inactivity, being overweight, and smoking – cholesterol can build up in the artery walls.
Over time, this forms hard, fatty plaques that narrow and stiffen blood vessels, restricting blood flow to the heart and brain. This significantly raises the risk of cardiac problems and can ultimately be life-threatening.
One of the most effective ways of treating high cholesterol is medications known as statins, which reduce the amount of cholesterol the liver produces.
High-dose statins can lower LDL cholesterol by roughly half. For someone with extremely high levels of cholesterol, that could reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke by up to 40 to 50 per cent.
Yet despite these dramatic benefits and their life-saving potential, for decades statins have been shrouded in fear, doubt, and confusion about their potential side effects, meaning many people choose not to take them.
We’re here to set the record straight by busting five of the most common myths about statins.
Myth 1: Muscle pain is a common side-effect
One of the most commonly reported complaints among people taking statins is muscle pain. However, according to new research, the reality could be an example of the ‘nocebo effect’, a phenomenon where expecting side effects makes you more likely to notice or experience them – the opposite of the placebo effect.
This was shown clearly in a large randomised trial led by Professor Peter Sever at Imperial College London. In the first, blinded phase, patients didn’t know whether they were taking a statin or a placebo, and both groups reported similar levels of muscle pain.
In the second phase, when participants were told they were taking a statin, reports of muscle symptoms increased by up to 41 per cent.
“These symptoms are not imaginary, and the pain is real,” Sever explains, “But our results clearly show the drug is not responsible, and genuine muscle-related side effects from statins are actually very rare.”
Sever’s findings were confirmed by a large meta-analysis from the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration, which examined data from 23 major blinded, randomised trials.
These studies found that muscle symptoms were reported at almost identical rates in people taking statins (27.1 per cent) and those taking a placebo (26.6 per cent), and more than 90 per cent of reported muscle symptoms were not actually caused by the statin itself.
Dr Christina Reith, associate professor at Oxford Population Health and joint lead author of the study, says: “Many concerns about statin side effects come from observational studies, which aren’t reliable for determining that a drug actually causes symptoms that are common in everyday life.
“Randomised controlled trials are much more reliable because people are randomly given a statin or a placebo. That makes the groups comparable and allows us to see whether the drug is truly responsible,” she says.
Myth 2: They cause diabetes
Another common worry about statins is that they might cause diabetes. There is an element of truth in this, but the reality is more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
Statins don’t suddenly cause diabetes out of nowhere in healthy people. What they may do is bring forward the diagnosis in people who were already on the path towards it, as statins can cause a small rise in blood sugar levels.
Naveed Sattar, professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow and author of multiple studies on statins and diabetes, explains that statins cause a small increase in blood sugar.
“Diabetes is diagnosed at 48 mmol/mol or above,” says Sattar. “Most people are well below that level, so this small rise isn’t an issue. But for someone who is already very close to the diagnostic cut-off for diabetes, it could nudge them over the line.”
He adds that the potential rise in blood sugar can easily be counteracted by small, sustainable lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity, losing weight, and improving diet.
The way diabetes risk is reported can also sound scarier than it is. For instance, in a large 2024 analysis by Reith and her team, lower-intensity statins were linked to a 10 per cent higher relative risk of diabetes, and higher-intensity statins to a 36 per cent higher relative risk compared with a placebo.
“These figures can sound alarming,” she says, “but it’s important to look at the absolute change in risk. In the lower-intensity trials, the absolute increase in new cases of diabetes was about 0.12 per cent per year – just over one extra case per 1,000 people.
“In the higher-intensity trials, the absolute increase was 1.27 per cent per year, around 13 extra cases per 1,000 people each year.”
Both Reith and Sattar stress that people should not be put off statins because of concern about diabetes risk. The significant reduction of heart attacks and strokes from taking statins by far outweighs the risks.
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Myth 3: Statins cause memory loss
Our memories are what make us who we are. So it’s understandable that when people see memory loss listed as a possible side effect of statins, it can make them cautious about taking them.
As with any medication, statins have a long list of side effects listed in the package leaflet – everything from depression to sleep disturbance, erectile and sexual dysfunction, and memory loss.
But how significant are these side effects in reality? Not very, it turns out.
In February 2026, Reith and her colleagues published the most comprehensive review to date into the actual side effects of statins, they found the medication didn’t actually cause the majority of those listed.
This study used data from the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration, covering 23 large, randomised trials and more than 150,000 participants.
The researchers found that reports of these side effects were almost identical in the statin and placebo groups. For example, each year, 2 in 1,000 people reported cognitive or memory impairment, regardless of whether they were taking statins or a placebo.
In other words, while people may notice forgetfulness while on treatment, there is no good evidence that statins are the cause.
“Statins are life-saving drugs, and our study provides reassurance that, for most people, the benefits far outweigh the risks,” Reith says.
Myth 4: Liver damage is a serious risk
As with diabetes, the fear that statins might cause liver damage isn’t entirely unfounded.
For a small number of people, taking statins can lead to a mild rise in liver enzymes, such as transaminases, on blood tests – a marker that can signal irritation or inflammation.
“In most cases, this rise in liver enzymes is small, causes no symptoms, and often settles on its own. Sometimes your doctor may reduce the dose or recommend stopping taking the statin for a while,” says Reith.
This is why doctors typically check liver function before starting treatment and repeat the test within the first few months, just to keep track of any potential problems.
However, such complications are rare. In the review published by Reith and colleagues in 2026, abnormal liver transaminases were seen in 0.30 per cent of people taking a statin, compared with 0.22 per cent of those taking a placebo – equivalent to less than one extra case per 1,000 people per year.
“Importantly, these mild changes are not associated with lasting damage, and there was no increase in serious clinical liver conditions, such as hepatitis, liver failure, or jaundice,” says Reith.
Myth 5: Taking statins alone is enough
Unfortunately, statins are not a magic pill that fixes everything. While they are highly effective at lowering cholesterol, the greatest benefits come from combining them with lifestyle changes to improve overall health.
To put this into perspective, an observational study of 265,209 adults at high risk of heart disease found that people who took statins and also followed a very healthy lifestyle – good diet, exercise, no smoking, drinking little alcohol – lived almost six years longer than those who didn’t take statins and had unhealthy habits.
Critically, people who were taking statins but continued with unhealthy habits didn’t see much of a reduction in their risk of death compared with those who weren’t taking statins and also lived unhealthily.
“Starting a statin isn’t a licence to sit back and relax,” says Sattar. “It’s actually an added incentive to create healthier habits and build on the benefits.
“That means improving your diet by eating more fibre, fruit and vegetables, choosing healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts and avocados, and cutting back on saturated fats and sugary drinks. It’s also important to try to be more active, minimise alcohol, avoid smoking, and watch your weight. Even losing as little as 2-3kg or walking 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference.”
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