Consumer Reports Weighs in On Crestor Issues

Seattle, WAConcerns about Crestor side effects, which reportedly include an increased risk of diabetes, have led some critics to question whether Crestor and other statin drugs are being over-prescribed. Crestor issues as they relate to health are compounded when the financial cost of the drug is included. Now, Consumer Reports is weighing in on the debate, and its recommendations include trying generic, lower-dose statins before taking Crestor.

Statins such as Crestor are used to lower a patient’s cholesterol level, thereby decreasing the risk of stroke. In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a change to the drug labels in the statin class, to warn about the risk of side effects, including muscle injury. Some statins are reportedly linked to an increased risk of diabetes and cardiomyopathy.

In 2005, a letter from Public Citizen Director Sidney Wolfe to the FDA made clear Public Citizen’s view on Crestor. In his letter, Wolfe argued that the rate of rhabdomyolysis (a life-threatening muscle condition) was 21.8 times higher than the rate in Pravachol, also a statin (which had the lowest rate of rhabdomyolysis).

Wolfe also argued that the rate of acute renal failure in patients who did not have rhabdomyolysis was 75 times higher in Crestor than other statins combined. At the time, Public Citizen demanded that the FDA pull Crestor from the market. The FDA has not done so.

More recently, Consumer Reports recommended that patients trying a statin opt for a lower-dose/less-expensive option than Crestor. The organization noted that Crestor costs around $175 a month while generic statins cost between $75 and $100 a month.

In the organization’s report, “Evaluating statin drugs to treat: High Cholesterol and Heart Disease,” Consumer Reports notes that patients who take a high-intensity statin like Crestor but do not meet the criteria for a high-potency statin could save thousands of dollars over the course of their statin treatment by switching to a moderate-intensity statin.

“Crestor has been shown to reduce heart attacks and deaths, but there is no reason to take it instead of generic atorvastatin, which is about half the price, depending on dose,” the report recommends.