Strong Link Between Statins and Diabetes Found

The revelations about the serious side effects of statins never seem to stop. Recent research shows the link between diabetes and these medications is overwhelmingly strong, increasing the risk between 46 and 87 percent.

Study Shows Statins Soar Diabetes Risk by 87 Percent

In a large study involving 26,000 beneficiaries of the military health system, the participants taking statins had an 87 percent greater risk of developing diabetes compared to those who weren’t on the medications. The most significant aspect of this research is that it is the first to show the association in relatively healthy people.

“In our study, statin use was associated with a significantly higher risk of new-onset diabetes, even in a very healthy population,” notes lead author Dr. Ishak Mansi. “The risk of diabetes with statins has been known, but up until now it was thought that this might be due to the fact that people who were prescribed statins had greater medical risks to begin with.”

An additional finding that was new to the body of research exploring the link between statins and diabetes shows that those who took the drugs experienced a high rate of complications of the disease. Within a group of 3,351 pairs of similar participants, statin users had a staggering 250 percent greater likelihood of contracting diabetes with complications. What’s more, the higher the dose, the higher the risk. The study was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Finnish Study Shows Statins Spike Diabetes Risk by Almost 50 Percent

The latest research comes on the heels of a Finnish study that over a course of six years followed 9,000 men, a fourth of whom were on a statin. It found that those who used statins had a 46 percent greater likelihood of diabetes. Once again, the higher the dose and the longer the duration of taking the drugs, the greater the risk of contracting the disease.

Another discovery was that the effect of statins on diabetes risk could be likened to a double-edged sword. The drugs raised insulin resistance as well as curtailed the ability of the pancreas to secrete insulin. Because of the harm the drugs perpetrate on the body’s system of regulating blood sugar, it’s no surprise the link to diabetes is so strong. The results were published inDiabetologia.