Statins may increase the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

[pca2004]

New Italian study [1] - which will be misunderstood, imo.

The authors seem to have expected statin use to lower the risk of PCa:

"... their anti-inflammatory features {statins} could play a role in preventing tumorigenesis."

Instead:

"Tumor incidence was higher among men taking statins, compared to controls (46.8% vs. 37.8% ...) ..."

Until recently, all of the meds I used were off-label for PCa. The only prescription I was able to get from my regular doctor was for Simvastatin (17 years ago). In the US doctors seem to believe that everyone could benefit from lower cholesterol.

"After 2013, the number of individuals who used statins increased by 149%, from 37 million in 2012–2013 to 92 million users in 2018–2019. The annual number of statins prescriptions increased from 461 million to 818 million (77%; p = 0.000) between 2008 and 2019."

In contrast (2016):

"... Italy has the lowest use of statins of Europe, with only 14.74 daily doses/1000 of population covered/day, against 23.86 in England, 26.47 in Germany, 30.85 in France, 59.28 in Norway" [3]

"American researchers believe that 97% of people over the age of 66 should regularly take statins to reduce their risk of heart disease." [4]

I'm assuming that the typical older Italian statin user is in poorer health than the average Italian non-user (or even an average American statin user). And this could include insulin resistance (my bugbear). I'm not surprised that this group is at greater risk for PCa.

From the new study:

"Statin intake ... independently predicted PCa diagnosis but not high-grade disease"

Hopefully, the media are not avid readers of Minerva Urology and Nephrology. lol

-Patrick

[1] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/377...

[2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[3] bmj.com/rapid-response/2011...

[4] euractiv.com/section/health...

[PCaWarrior]

At first glance these researchers are poster boys for the need for better education.

The study conclusion is about as logical as a study that concludes that seat-belt use may be associated with an increased risk of car accidents. Gee, do you think that might be because the chances I'm driving in a car are higher if I have a seat-belt on? No, let's go with the eye catching headline.

[Maxone73]

take into consideration that Italians are with Japanese the oldest population in terms of avg life expectancy and that older Italians eat (usually) way better than younger Italians (stricter Mediterranean diet, often paired with homemade food and homegrown veggies)…there you go! I have forgotten my point! Dammit…