Statin use was not independently associated with accelerated skeletal muscle mass decline after adjustment for key metabolic confounders, suggesting that underlying metabolic and clinical characteristics, rather than statin exposure, may play a more important role in longitudinal muscle mass changes.
Continuous statin users were older and had a higher prevalence of metabolic comorbidities than non-users.
In unadjusted analyses, statin users exhibited significantly greater declines in lower limb lean mass (LLM) and appendicular lean mass (ALM) than non-users.
Greater declines in LLM and ALM among statin users remained significant after adjustment for age and sex.
After further adjustment for body mass index and diabetes mellitus, associations between statin use and changes in all muscle mass indices were no longer significant.
Underlying metabolic and clinical characteristics, rather than statin exposure, appear to play a more important role in longitudinal muscle mass changes.
This research suggests that taking statins — a common class of cholesterol-lowering medications — is not independently linked to faster loss of muscle mass over time. The study followed 2,300 adults who had repeated health checkups between 2021 and 2023, comparing those who continuously took statins (about 1 in 7 participants) to those who did not. Muscle mass in different body regions was measured using a technique called bioelectrical impedance analysis. At first glance, statin users appeared to lose more muscle in their legs and overall limbs compared to non-users. However, statin users were also older and more likely to have conditions like obesity and diabetes — factors known to contribute to muscle loss on their own. Once the researchers accounted for these health differences using statistical models, the apparent link between statin use and muscle decline disappeared entirely. This pattern held across all muscle mass measurements examined in the study. This research suggests that the muscle concerns sometimes associated with statins in population studies may actually reflect the poorer underlying health of people who tend to be prescribed statins, rather than a direct harmful effect of the medication itself. People who take statins should be aware that managing metabolic health conditions like diabetes and maintaining a healthy body weight may be important factors in preserving muscle mass as they age.
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Upload Your LabsLee J, Jun S, Lee J, Han J, Kim H. (2026). Association between statin use and longitudinal changes in skeletal muscle mass: A population-based cohort study.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355202