1/5/2015
A new study published in the journal 
Diabetologia finds the use of statins – drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol – may significantly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, and that this risk remains even after accounting for confounding factors, including age, smoking status and body mass index.
The link between statin use and diabetes has already been well established however in this study many of the previous limitations have been removed. The study analysed 8,479 caucasian men between the ages of 45 to 73.
Researchers concluded that the increased risk is most likely linked to statins that reduce insulin sensitivity and secretion.
But according to the researchers of this latest study – including Prof. Markku Laakso of the Institute of Clinical Medicine at the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital in Finland – such studies have had numerous limitations.
The study concluded that the men that were treated with statins were at 46% higher risk of diabetes than men who were not treated with statins.
Based on their results, the researchers say:
“Statin therapy was associated with a 46% increased risk of type 2 diabetes after adjustment for confounding factors, suggesting a higher risk of diabetes in the general population than previously reported.
The association of statin use with increased risk of developing diabetes is most likely directly related to statins decreasing both insulin sensitivity and secretion.”
Click this link to read the study abstract in Diabetologia
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