Effects of Statins on Energy and Fatigue With Exertion: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

No drug is without adverse effect potential, and fatigue and exertional intolerance are adverse effects reported by patients receiving statins. Little direct information is available regarding the typical or average impact of statins on energy or exertional fatigue.

Although many observational reports have cited fatigue and exertional fatigue with statin use, to our knowledge, no randomized trials have addressed this issue to date. Energy and exertional fatigue were measured as tertiary and/or exploratory outcomes in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Statin Study, which aimed to examine a range of noncardiac outcomes. We capitalized on these data to evaluate whether moderate-dose statins affected energy and exertional fatigue in a broadly sampled primary prevention population.