COVID-19 Vaccination Protects Skeletal Muscle Against Statin-Related Side Effects.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Pharmacology

Background:

• COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) has significantly impacted global health systems.
• Vaccines are crucial for mitigating COVID-19's effects.
• Statins, used for dyslipidemia, can cause muscle-related side effects, potentially exacerbated by COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the association between statin use and muscle symptoms (pain, creatine kinase levels) in COVID-19 patients.
• To investigate the impact of COVID-19 vaccination status on these muscle-related symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Observational study of 147 symptomatic COVID-19 patients (74 statin users, 73 non-users).
• Assessed muscle pain via Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and measured creatine kinase (CK) levels.
• Recorded vaccination status (unvaccinated, one-dose, two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech) and analyzed demographic factors.

Main Results:

• Statin users exhibited higher CK levels and a slightly higher incidence of severe rhabdomyolysis.
• Older adults (≥65) on statins showed significantly elevated CK levels; men had higher CK values.
• Fully vaccinated individuals reported less muscle pain and had lower CK values compared to unvaccinated patients.

Conclusions:

• Statin use correlates with increased muscle pain and elevated CK levels in COVID-19 patients.
• Older adults and women may be more vulnerable to severe muscle complications.
• Full COVID-19 vaccination appears to mitigate statin-associated muscle symptoms.