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Statin use and joint symptoms
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) is an ongoing broad study which looks at the health and well-being of women in Australia. The ALSWH is made up of many sub-studies. One of the sub-studies looked at middle aged and older women’s use of statins (cholesterol lowering medications) and whether they prevent the development of osteoarthritis. The researchers wanted to find out if women who took statins experienced less joint pain and/or stiffness. The researchers found that 31.3% of middle-aged women and 51.5% of older women in the sub-study took statin. Women taking statin did not report a reduction in new joint symptoms such as pain and/or stiffness. AIHW annually links the ALSWH data with Medicare (Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme) and National Death Index for the research team to analyse.
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