New statin link to diabetes

Friday April 17th, 2015

Taking cholesterol-lowering statins increases the risk of developing diabetes significantly, according to the latest investigation into the subject.

The Finnish researchers say they sought to eliminate the factors that make it hard to pin-point the direct effect of statins on diabetes risk.

The researchers studied nearly 9,000 men who did not have diabetes at the outset of the research.

They say that accounted for factors such as waist size, alcohol drinking, fitness and smoking before calculating that people who took statins faced a 46% increased risk of developing diabetes.

The risk was also linked to the size of the dose of statins.

The findings were reported in the journal Diabetologia.

Researcher Professor Markku Laakso, of the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, Finland, said the findings suggested a greater risk of diabetes than earlier reports.

He said: "The association of statin use with increased risk of developing diabetes is most likely directly related to statins decreasing both insulin sensitivity and secretion."

Diabetologia 16 April 2015

Tags: Diabetes | Europe | Heart Health | Pharmaceuticals

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