Last year, 255 million prescriptions in the U.S. were written for cholesterol-lowering statins, which have been safely used for decades. Yet a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine is raising a red flag that this class of drugs may increase the risk of diabetes in older women by 50 percent.
For the study, researchers from Harvard Medical School analyzed data on 161,000 postmenopausal women from the Women s Health Initiative, which was launched in 1993. After eight to nine years of follow-up, they found that 6.4 percent of women who never used statins developed diabetes, compared to 9.9 percent of women on the medication.
Despite the added risk, however, cardiologist Dr. Steve Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic reminds users that statins are still among the best drugs we ve got. And even study co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson adds that these studies shouldn t be cause for alarm.
Though scientists can t explain what biological mechanism is responsible for increasing the risk of diabetes among statin users, Dr. Vivian Fonseca, the American Diabetes Association s president for medicine and science, says that every medication has risks and benefits, but you don t want people to have heart attacks because they are so worried about getting diabetes.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross seconds this recommendation, adding that the reduction in cardiovascular events associated with statin use outweighs the increased risk of diabetes. The results of this study do not mean that patients should stop taking their medication. He does point out, however, that the recent findings provide another argument against recent proposals to allow the sale of these drugs over-the-counter. Clearly, a physician s guidance is necessary before initiating statin treatment, which is likely to be a lifelong course; this discussion should inform patients of all the risks and benefits.