Cholesterol denialism

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Statin denialism (also known as cholesterol denialism) is a form of pseudoscientific denialism that claims cholesterol is not related to heart disease and statins are evil because they are sold by Big Pharma and cause adverse side effects. It is promoted by LCHF conspiracy theorists and has a presence on social media platforms such as Twitter.

Statin denialism is not taken seriously by the medical community. It has been described by medical experts as an "internet-driven cult with deadly consequences."[1]

Statin or cholesterol deniers claim that saturated fat has wrongly been demonized by medical scientists and is healthy in for human dieting in very high quantities. They say that high cholesterol is good for health and there is no link between cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases.[2]

Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology Rory Collins has compared statin denialism to flat earthism, he has noted "the claims that blood LDL cholesterol levels are not causally related to cardiovascular disease (which is really in the same realm as claiming that smoking does not cause cancer) are factually false."[2]

According to cardiologist Steve Nissen "we have abundant scientific evidence demonstrating that treatment of high risk primary prevention patients substantially reduces the risk of cardiovascular morbidity.” Whilst acknowledging that statins, like other drugs, have adverse effects, "the benefits are so well documented that every effort should be made to encourage use of these drugs in appropriate patients."[3]

The leading advocates of statin denialism are associated with the The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS). They have been accused of "cherry-pick[ing] the scientific literature to find studies that support their theses, ignore the flaws in those studies, and ignore the vast body of literature that contradicts them."[4]

List of notable statin denialists

References