Cholesterol drugs usage, specifically the use of fibrates, is on the rise in the United States even though research shows they are not particularly beneficial to health, reports HealthDay.
The fibrates lower triglycerides, fats that circulate in the blood. The study is meant to determine how effective the reduction of these fats in the system are in improving health.
"In some recent studies, the fibrates, particularly fenofibrate, was not found to reduce the chances of having a heart attack or of saving lives," said lead author Cynthia A. Jackevicius.
"Just because the medicine may improve the cholesterol profile doesn't mean it also decreases the chance of a heart attack or death."
Despite their evidence, HealthDay reports that prescriptions increased from 336 per 100,000 people to 730 in the US between January 2002 and December 2009. By comparison, prescriptions in Canada only increased from 402 to 474 in the same time period.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
