Do women with statin-related myalgias have low Vitamin D levels?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Margo Minissian, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Megha Agarwal, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Chrisandra Shufelt, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Puja Kiran Mehta, Emory University; Talya Waldman, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Greg Lentz, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Galen Cook-Wiens, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Jo-Ann Eastwood, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; C. Noel Bairey Merz, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-09-17
• Publisher: BMC (part of Springer Nature)
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2015 Minissian et al.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13104-015-1356-9
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: BMC Research Notes
• ISSN: 1756-0500
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 449
• End Page: 449
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Lipid Foundation, contracts from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institutes nos. N01-HV-68161, N01-HV-68162, N01-HV-68163, N01-HV-68164, grants U0164829, U01 HL649141, U01 HL649241, K23HL105787, T32HL69751, R01 HL090957, 1R03AG032631 from the National Institute on Aging, GCRC grant MO1-RR00425 from the National Center for Research Resources, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Grant UL1TR000124 and UL1TR000064, and grants from the Gustavus and Louis Pfeiffer Research Foundation, Danville, NJ, The Women’s Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, The Ladies Hospital Aid Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, and QMED, Inc., Laurence Harbor, NJ, the Edythe L. Broad and the Constance Austin Women’s Heart Research Fellowships, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, the Barbra Streisand Women’s Cardiovascular Research and Education Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), Washington, D.C., The Linda Joy Pollin Women’s Heart Health Program, and the Erika Glazer Women’s Heart Health Project, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
• Keywords: Aged; Middle Aged; Female; Vitamin D; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Humans; Myalgia; Retrospective Studies; Pilot Projects
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Background: Statin intolerance is often due to myalgias. Severe vitamin D deficiency is characterized by musculoskeletal pain. We hypothesized that statin-intolerance is associated with vitamin D deficiency. Objectives: To determine whether there is an association between statin-intolerance and vitamin D deficiency in a retrospective observational analysis. Methods: We evaluated 20 female patients with prior myalgia-related daily dose statin intolerance on an alternative day statin dosing protocol of twice weekly for 4 weeks followed by advancement to daily dosing, as tolerated. Fasting baseline and follow-up lipid and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OHD) levels were obtained by chart review. Results: The group median age was 61 ± 13 years old and BMI was 27 ± 7 kg/m². Women who remained on alternative day statin dosing (n = 16) compared to women on daily dosing (n = 4) had a significantly lower group mean 25-OHD (mean 29 ± 11.23 vs. 47.5 ± 23.53 ng/ml p = 0.0307 respectively). Conclusions: In women with prior myalgia-related statin intolerance, vitamin D levels were significantly lower in women who remained on alternative day dosing compared to those who were tolerant of daily dosing.