Study: There are major risks to taking niacin for cholesterol issues
More than 700,000 prescriptions are written for niacin each month in the United States, but a new study finds that the pills might do more harm than good.
Niacin is a B vitamin, and is often given to patients who need to lower their "bad" cholesterol while raising the "good" kind. Researchers at Oxford University studied more than 25,000 people in Europe and China who took niacin while undergoing standard cholesterol treatment. The "bad" cholesterol (LDL) did decrease, but the niacin was also linked to a 32 percent increase in diabetes over four years. There were other side effects, like bleeding, heartburn, and stomach ulcers, and taking niacin didn't seem to lower rates of chest pain, stroke, or heart attack.
"On the basis of the weight of available evidence showing net clinical harm, niacin must be considered to have an unacceptable toxicity profile for the majority of patients, and it should not be used routinely," Dr. Donald Lloyd-Hones of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine wrote in a commentary. The Mayo Clinic still recommends taking niacin, but only after consulting with a doctor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The report was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Unprepared for a pandemic
Opinion What happens if bird flu evolves to spread among humans?
By William Falk Published
-
6 impressive homes in Toronto
Feature Featuring floating stairs in Lytton Park and a two-tiered infinity pool in Banbury-Don Mills
By The Week Staff Published
-
Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the world
Feature The Booker Prize-winning author recommends works by Marilynne Robinson, George Eliot, and more
By The Week US Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study finds
Speed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes risk
Speed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published