Influence of HMG-CoA-reductase inhibitors on the body fat status.

BACKGROUND: While the literature has conclusively shown a significant decrease of plasma lipids after intake of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, there is no detailed information provided about their effects on the body fat status. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospective randomized controlled trial including consecutive patients with suspected arterial occlusive disease. Normolipidemic patients served as the control group and hyperlipidemic patients were randomized to either 20 mg atorvastatin or to 40 mg simvastatin. At baseline, after 6 weeks and after 6 months we assessed the relative body fat, the waist circumference and the body mass index (BMI) as well as plasma total cholesterol (chol), low-densitiy lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides (TG).
RESULTS: In total we included 129 patients in our analysis. The body fat status remained unchanged in the control group as well as in the atorvastatin group (all p > 0.05) for the whole study period, while simvastatin treatment led to a slight, but significant increase of the relative body fat (+ 4.2%) between the 6 weeks and 6 months assessment (p = 0.013).
CONCLUSIONS: Long-term intake of statins seems to have no positive influence on parameters of the body fat status and therefore misses one important goal in the cardiovascular risk prevention.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes