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Updated: May 3, 2026

Differential Effects of Lipid-lowering Drugs in Modulating Morphology of Cholesterol Particles
Published on: November 10, 2017
[A meta-analysis on the safety of combination therapy with fenofibrate and statins]
Qiang Geng1, Jing-yi Ren1, Su-fang Li1
1Department of Cardiology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing 100044, China.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess the safety of fenofibrate-statin combination therapy.
Methods:
Medline, Cochrane Library, Web of Knowledge and CNKI were searched for 2184 randomized controlled trials. Finally, twenty-six studies with a total of 9494 participants were included in this analysis.
Results:
Compared with statins group, the fenofibrate-statin group had significantly higher incidence of aminotransferase elevations (OR 1.67, 95%CI 1.22-2.30, P < 0.05) . The two groups had identical incidence of creatin kinase elevations (OR 0.86, 95%CI 0.62-1.20, P > 0.05) , muscle-associated adverse events (OR 0.98, 95%CI 0.88-1.09, P > 0.05) and withdrawals due to hepatotoxicity or muscle toxicity. The safety of fenofibrate + standard-dose statin regimens were similar to those in fenofibrate-statin group.
Conclusion:
Combined fenofibrate-statin treatment is generally safe and well tolerated, liver function should be monitored before and during and after therapy.
Insights
Fenofibrate-statin combination therapy is generally safe, though it may increase liver enzyme elevations. Close liver function monitoring is recommended during treatment for patients on this lipid-lowering drug combination.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Pharmacology
- Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance
- Metabolic Disease Management
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