Galway Bay fm newsroom - A new study carried out at NUI Galway has found that statins - cholesterol lowering drugs - may be overused by Irish people.
Statins are used to prevent heart disease, but the study found their increased use may offer minimal benefits to many people.
The NUI Galway study found a significant increase in the number of those aged over-50 who do not have cardiovascular disease but are still eligible for statins.
The figure for the cholestrol lowering drug stood at just 8 percent in 1987 - but had risen to 61 percent in 2016.
An earlier study by the researchers at the JE Cairnes School of Business and Economics found that one third of adults in a sample of over-50s were taking statins.
However, the latest study found that there is general uncertainty as to the benefits of taking statins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
It concluded that statin use in some low-risk people may represent overuse of medicine and low value for money in the already strained health sector.
