TABLE 4.
The effects of CoQ10 supplementation on statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS).
| References | Study | Main effect b | Comments on CoQ10 in patients on statins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banach et al. (2015a) | Meta-analysis | ↓ | CoQ10 did not cause any difference in muscle pain |
| Banach et al. (2015b) | No change in phosphocreatine kinase (PCK) | ||
| Taylor et al. (2015)a | Clinical trial | ↓ | Patients with confirmed myalgia |
| Zaleski et al. (2018)a | CoQ10 (600 mg/d for 8 weeks); serum CoQ10 increased 400% (1.3 μg/mL to 5.2 μg/mL) | ||
| CoQ10 did not improve skeletal muscle symptoms nor performance in patients with confirmed SAMS | |||
| PCK fluctuated too widely to be useful | |||
| Qu et al. (2018) | Meta-Analysis | ↑ | Twelve studies were included in the analysis |
| CoQ10 ameliorated SAMS | |||
| Supplementation as a complementary approach | |||
| No reduction of PCK | |||
| Kennedy et al. (2020) | Meta-Analysis | ↓ | Seven studies were included in the analysis |
| CoQ10 did not improve myalgia symptomsCoQ10 did not improve adherence to statin therapy; patients discontinued medication | |||
| Durhuus et al. (2020) | Clinical trial | ↓ | Statin patients with and without myalgia on CoQ10 (8 weeks with 400 mg/d) |
| CoQ10 had no impact on mitochondrial functions nor was it bioavailable (platelets and PMBC) | |||
| ROS increased in platelets of statin takers with SAMS (250%↑) and without SAMS (100%↑) | |||
| Wei et al. (2022) | Meta-Analysis | ↓ | Eight studies were included in the analysis; 4 evaluated CoQ10 on muscle pain |
| CoQ10 did not improve statin-induced myopathy | |||
| PCK increased NS | |||
| Chen et al. (2022) | Retrospective | ↓ | 12.5% of statin takers (n = 511) also supplemented CoQ10 (n = 64) |
| The frequency of SAMS resolution was similar between groups | |||
| CoQ10 did not improve their muscle symptoms |
a
This study is considered the most rigorous in defining SAMS, to study with CoQ10 supplementation.