An assessment by the Statin Cognitive Safety Task Force: 2014 update

Abstract

The National Lipid Association's Safety Task Force convened a consensus conference of experts to develop a position statement on cognitive function to revise and update that published originally by the Association in the 2006 assessment of statin safety by a panel of neurologists. The current expert panel was charged with addressing the specific issue of potential adverse cognitive effects attributable to statins. Search strategies recently used in systematic reviews were used to identify relevant evidence using keywords and topics via Medline searches from 1966 to December 2013. Manual searches of bibliographies were also conducted. Panel members were asked to use the evidence to formulate answers to a series of questions of relevance to the subject matter. The strength of recommendations and quality of evidence were graded using accepted contemporary definitions and procedures. Recommendations to patients, health professionals, and researchers were put forth by the panel to aid in daily clinical decision making, and in future research endeavors.

Keywords: Adverse drug effects; Cognition; Iatrogenesis; Memory; Statins.