foodconsumer.org: Statins may raise diabetes risk

Statins may raise diabetes risk
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admin on 02/18/2010 12:35:00
 
People using cholesterol-lowering statins were found to be 9 percent more likely
to develop diabetes, according to researchers who said that the heart benefits
outweigh risks.
The study in the Lancet medical journal is expected to influence the decision
whether or not to take statins to prevent heart disease by those who do not have
had heart disease or history of a cardiovascular event.
The study led Naveed Sattar of the Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Center at the
University of Glasgow showed a clear association between taking statins and
diabetes.  But according to the researchers, the risk is small.  The treatment
of 255 patients with statins for four years would result in only one extra case
of diabetes.
Satter and his team reviewed data from 13 large randomized controlled trials of
statins between 1994 and 2009 involving about 91,000 patients.
The benefits outweigh the risks.  The researchers found over a period of four
years, using statins resulted in one case of diabetes in a group, but also help
avoid 5.4 deaths or heart attacks and the same number of strokes and
artery-opening surgeries.
Early studies have determined that statins offer a very limited protection in
those who have not experienced any heart disease. Some critics suggest that it
is not economically worth the investment because of the limited benefits.
By Jimmy Downs and editing by Denise Reynolds