Television show questions statins to boost ratings, Dutch doctors claim

Dutch doctors are calling for restrictions on television programmes that they claim deliberately use matters of patient safety to boost viewing figures. This follows angry reactions from medical bodies to a consumer affairs programme that questioned whether high concentrations of cholesterol in blood increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The programme, Radar, broadcast by television company Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting, also raised doubts about the safety of prescribing statins to combat high cholesterol.

Doctors fear that some of the one million Dutch patients who are taking statins may stop without consulting their doctor and, therefore, risk future heart attacks.

In a complaint to the Healthcare Inspectorate, the …