Moderate-intensity exercise improves muscle performance in statin users

A moderate-intensity endurance and resistance exercise training programme results in better muscle performance, capillarization, and mitochondrial content in both asymptomatic and symptomatic statin users without exacerbating muscle complaints, a study has shown. In addition, exercise training may even improve quality of life in symptomatic statin users.

In this study, symptomatic and asymptomatic statin users (n=16 in each arm, mean age 64±4 years) and nonstatin users (controls; n=20; mean age 63±5 years) completed a 12-week endurance and resistance exercise training programme.

The authors then determined the maximal exercise performance (peak oxygen consumption), muscle performance, and muscle symptoms before and after training. They also collected muscle biopsies to examine citrate synthase activity, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production capacity, muscle fibre type distribution, fibre size, and capillarization.

At baseline, type I muscle fibres were less prevalent in symptomatic statin users compared with controls (p=0.06). Exercise training improved muscle strength (p<0.001), resistance to fatigue (p=0.01), and muscle fibre capillarization (p<0.01), with no between-group differences.

Exercise training also improved citrate synthase activity in the total group (p<0.01), with asymptomatic statin users exhibiting less improvement than controls (p=0.02). On the other hand, no change occurred in peak oxygen consumption, ATP production capacity, fibre size, and muscle symptoms in all groups following training.

Of note, quality of life scores improved only in symptomatic statin users following training (p<0.01).

“The combination of statin therapy and physical activity reduces cardiovascular disease risk in patients with hyperlipidaemia more than either treatment alone,” the authors said. “However, mitochondrial dysfunction associated with statin treatment could attenuate training adaptations.”