Diabetes > Diabetes News > High-Dose Statins Associated With Increased Diabetes Risk
Join myDiabetes.in
High-Dose Statins Associated With Increased Diabetes Risk
Fri, 24 Jun 2011
High doses of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may increase a person’s risk of developing diabetes, according to new research.

Statins such as Pfizer's Lipitor are the world's best-selling drugs . They work by lowering levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called "bad" cholesterol .

Numerous studies over the years have shown that taking statins can lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, but some have suggested that the drugs may raise the risk of diabetes .

To examine whether dose is a factor, researchers in Glasgow examined data from five different studies involving 32,752 patients who had either stable cardiovascular disease or a recent history of chest pain or heart attack, and were treated with high and moderate doses of statins . None of the patients had diabetes at the start of the study.

Over a five-year period, 2,749 participants (8.4 per cent) developed diabetes, and 6,684 participants (20 per cent) had a major heart problem .

The researchers found that for every 498 patients who took high-dose statins for one year, there was one extra case of diabetes .

But at the same time, the medications prevented one cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, stroke or artery-clearing angioplasty for every 155 people who took them, highlighting that the heart benefits of statins still outweigh any risks associated with diabetes .

Dr David Preiss, clinical research fellow at the University of Glasgow’s cardiovascular research centre and lead author of the study, said: "We found that for every one extra case of diabetes associated with this intensive statin use, you’d prevent approximately three people from having a major cardiovascular event ."

"We’re certainly not saying that people shouldn’t be taking a high-dose statin. If you’re somebody who’s at high risk of an event, it’s definitely favorable for you, but what you should be doing is every once in a while getting checked for diabetes ."
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments
Diabetes News
Share Us