Millions of people around the world take statins to lower cholesterol and aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
These medicines have helped save many lives, but new research suggests they may affect muscle health in different ways, especially in people who currently smoke or used to smoke.
A new study published in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation found that statins may help slow the loss of chest muscles, while aspirin may be linked to greater muscle loss in smokers and former smokers. The findings could eventually help doctors choose the best treatments for people who are at high risk of losing muscle.
Muscles are essential for everyday life. They help us walk, climb stairs, lift objects, and even breathe. As people age or develop long-term illnesses, muscle mass naturally decreases.
For smokers and former smokers, this process often happens faster. Losing muscle can reduce strength, increase the risk of falls, lower quality of life, and make recovery from illness more difficult.
The problem is especially important for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. COPD is a long-term lung disease that includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It is most commonly caused by cigarette smoking, although air pollution and certain inherited conditions can also contribute.
COPD affects more than 30 million people in the United States and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Because the disease makes breathing difficult, people often become less physically active, which can speed up muscle loss.
Researchers wanted to know whether commonly used medicines might influence this process. The study was led by Dr. Toru Shirahata, a lung specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The team analyzed chest CT scans from 4,191 participants enrolled in the COPDGene study, a large research project that follows current and former smokers.
The researchers compared CT scans taken at two different times. They measured the size of the pectoralis muscles, which are the large muscles in the chest, and also examined muscle density, an indicator of muscle quality. They then compared these changes with the medicines people were taking.
The results showed that people taking statins generally lost less chest muscle over time than those who were not taking these medicines. In contrast, people taking aspirin appeared to lose more muscle. These findings suggest that statins may have a protective effect on muscle, while aspirin may be associated with faster muscle loss.
Dr. Shirahata explained that many smokers and former smokers also have heart disease, diabetes, or high cholesterol, so they are commonly prescribed statins and aspirin. Understanding how these medicines affect muscle health may help doctors make better treatment decisions for these patients.
However, the researchers also stressed that this study does not prove that statins directly protect muscles or that aspirin causes muscle loss. The study found an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship. Other factors may have influenced the results, and more research is needed to understand exactly why these differences were seen.
This is important because aspirin and statins have very different medical uses. Statins are widely prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Aspirin can help prevent blood clots in some people, but it is not recommended for everyone. Patients should never stop taking either medicine without first talking to their doctor, because the benefits may still greatly outweigh any possible risks.
Future studies will examine whether these findings can be confirmed in other groups of people and explore the biological reasons behind the differences. If the results are confirmed, doctors may eventually be able to better personalize treatment plans for smokers, former smokers, and people living with COPD.
This research highlights that common medicines may have effects beyond the conditions they are designed to treat. Learning more about how they influence muscle health could help people stay stronger, breathe more easily, and enjoy a better quality of life as they age.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies that herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm, and how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and results showing yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
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