Statins Linked To Diabetes Risk In Women

Thu, 12 Jan 2012

Cholesterol-lowering drugs may be linked to an increased risk of diabetes, according to a new study of middle-aged and older women.

The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the US, analysed data from the Women's Health Initiative, including more than 150,000 diabetes -free women in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

As part of that larger trial, some of the women were prescribed diet changes or took daily hormone therapy or vitamins, while others weren't told to change their diet or lifestyle.

At the start of the study in the mid-1990s, women filled out health questionnaires that included whether or not they were taking statins, as well as information on other diabetes risks, such as weight and activity levels.

The researchers then followed participants for six to seven years, on average, and tracked how many of them were diagnosed with diabetes .

In total, just over 10,200 women developed diabetes. The research team found that the women who reported using any kind of statin at the start of the study were 48 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than those not taking statins – four times higher than figures suggested in previous studies.

However, they stressed that their finding shouldn't dissuade people with heart disease - or at risk of it - from taking statin medications .

Instead, statin users should try to reduce their risk of diabetes in other ways, such as by losing weight, and should have their blood sugar regularly monitored, they said.

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