Statins are widely prescribed to patients and have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol levels by up to 55%, making them a highly effective method of reducing risk of heart disease. However, despite this success, patient response can vary widely.

The study, published in Nature Communications, is the largest to date and involved analysing data from six randomised clinical trials and 10 observational studies to look for genetic variants influencing patients' response to statins.

Researchers validated their findings in a further 22,318 individuals and found two new common genetic variants which significantly affected the degree to which LDL cholesterol was lowered during statin treatment.

The effects of all four associated genetic variants collectively account for about 5% of the variation in inter-individual response to statins. One of the identified genetic variants was shown to enhance statin response. In contrast, the second variant, thought to have a role in the uptake of statins by the liver, decreased the effects of the drug.

Source: Queen Mary University of London, 2014

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