According to a recently published meta-analysis of persons at low risk for vascular disease (including those receiving statins for primary prevention), statins reduced the risk of major vascular events by 21% per each reduction of 1.0 mmol per liter (38.7 mg per deciliter) in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The risk of death from vascular causes was reduced by 12%. There was no increase in the incidence of cancer or the rate of cancer-related death. Even among participants with estimated 5-year event rates of less than 5%, there was a 38% reduction in the rate of major vascular events, a 43% reduction in the rate of major coronary events, and a 48% reduction in the rate of revascularization.

Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' (CTT) Collaborators. The effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with statin therapy in people at low risk of vascular disease: meta-analysis of individual data from 27 randomised trials. Lancet 2012 May 16