The controversy over statins has revealed something: the nocebo effect is real | Ann Robinson

Just as placebos can have a positive effect, expectation of side-effects can have a negative one. That ’s why proper doctor-patient communication is so vitalStatins are back in the news;a new study shows that media-fuelled controversy among health experts has dented public confidence in the cholesterol-lowering drugs that prevent 80,000 heart attacks and strokes every year in the UK. The benefits far outweigh the harm from rare side-effects, according to a review of the evidence in the Lancet medical journal. But200,000 people stopped taking their statins in 2013 following six months of “disputed research and tendentious opinion” on their potential side-effects.Related:Statin side-effects only felt by those who believe in them – studyContinue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Placebo effect Statins Health Society NHS Heart attack Stroke Doctors UK news Science Source Type: news