Statins, drugs that lower cholesterol, can influence aggressive behavior in an individual, a new study suggests.
Women who take statins tend to be more aggressive compared with men, the study found.
The study, which appeared in the journal PLOS One, involved more than 1,000 participants randomly instructed to take either a statin or a placebo for six months.
According to lead researcher and UC San Diego School of Medicine professor Beatrice Golomb, previous studies have shown that low cholesterol levels can make people more aggressive, leading to an increased rate of violent crimes and death.
Golomb also said the new study intended to provide a better understanding of how low cholesterol and statins could affect aggressive behavior.
The group assigned to take statins took either simvastatin 20 mg or pravastatin 40 mg, as reported in Medscape. The researchers then measured behavioral aggression in participants by recording any aggressive behavior targeted towards other people, objects or even themselves.
Researchers carefully observed changes in the level of aggression from the beginning to the end of the study.
UC San Diego Health also reported that the analyses for both genders were separated because the effects of statin tended to differ for men and women.
"The data reprise the finding that statins don't affect all people equally — effects differ in men versus women, and younger versus older," said Golomb.
In female participants, who were all postmenopausal, increased aggression was a typical side effect, with a more pronounced aggression seen in females over the age of 45.
The analysis on men proved to be more complicated. Three of the male participants who took statins were observed to have a spike in aggression.
When the three men were included during the analysis, "there was no average effect," but when they were not included in the analysis, the study found a significant decline in aggressive behavior.
Golomb said the take-home message was that both genders could experience an increase in aggressive behavior when on statins.
However, the study showed that increased aggression was more typical in women and that reduction was the typical effect in men.
