Statins: the end of glory?
Statins increase risk of diabetes by 46 per cent
- Statins, since their introduction in late eighties, were known to increase the risk of diabetes. However, the elevation of the risk was supposed to be of moderate degree with cardiovascular benefits largely outweighing this downside. A major six-year study from Finland found that those prescribed statins were far more likely to develope insulin resistance and diabetes.
- The study led by world-known diabetes expert Professor Markku Laakso (Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, Finland), tracked 8,749 non-diabetic men aged 45–73 for 5.9 years.
- Participants on statin treatment (N = 2,142) had a 46% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The risk was dose dependent for simvastatin and atorvastatin. Statin treatment significantly increased 2 h glucose (2hPG) and glucose AUC of an OGTT at follow-up, with a nominally significant increase in fasting plasma glucose (FPG). Insulin sensitivity was decreased by 24% and insulin secretion by 12% in individuals on statin treatment (at FPG and 2hPG <5.0 mmol/l) compared with individuals without statin treatment (p < 0.01). Decreases in insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion were dose dependent for simvastatin and atorvastatin.
- The study was published in journal Diabetologia on 10 March 2015. One of regular co-authors of prof. Laakso team is a leading Slovak diabetes expert Alena Stančáková; she is also a member of the staf at the IV. Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty, Košice, Slovakia.
Read more: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25754552
