Taking statins raises risk of developing diabetes by 50%
- Controversial cholesterol-lowering drugs are used by around 12million Britons
- Australian scientists carried out one of the first studies focusing on the effects
- Research focused on effects of statins on more than 8,000 female pensioners
- This set of patients should be regularly monitored for blood sugar readings
Daily Mail Reporter
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Taking statins can increase the risk of developing diabetes for older women by more than 50 per cent, research shows.
Higher dosages mean they are likelier to suffer the potentially fatal condition – in which blood sugar levels get too high.
The controversial cholesterol-lowering drugs are used by around 12million Britons, but have been linked with side effects.
Now, Australian scientists have carried out one of the first studies of its kind focusing on the effects of statins on more than 8,000 female pensioners.
Taking statins can increase the risk of developing diabetes for older women by more than 50 per cent, research shows
They say this set of patients should be regularly monitored for blood sugar readings.
The team found over-75s face a 33 per cent higher chance of getting diabetes if they are taking them.
But the risk rose to more than 50 per cent for those on higher doses. It follows research last year which showed people with naturally higher levels of cholesterol, paradoxically, are less likely to suffer diabetes.
Dr Mark Jones, of the University of Queensland, said: ‘We found almost 50 per cent of women in their late seventies and eighties in the study took statins, and five per cent were diagnosed with new onset diabetes.’
This is the type 2 form of the disease that develops in adulthood and is linked with lifestyle factors such as obesity.
Dr Jones said: ‘Statins are highly prescribed in this age group but there are very few clinical trials looking at their effects on older women.’
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Previous research showed just a modest increase in diabetes risk among patients taking statins.
The drugs are prescribed to reduce incidence of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.
Dr Jones explained: ‘What is most concerning was we found a ‘dose effect’ where the risk of diabetes increased as the dosage of statins increased. Over the ten years of the study most of the women progressed to higher doses of statins. Those elderly women taking statins should be carefully and regularly monitored for increased blood glucose.’
The research published in Drugs and Ageing was based on prescription and survey data from 8,372 women born between 1921 and 1926. They are regularly surveyed as part of the Women’s Health Australia study.
The controversial cholesterol-lowering drugs are used by around 12million Britons, but have been linked with side effects
In August, researchers at the University of Oxford found cases of heart disease were more likely to occur among people with genetic mutations that increased levels of blood fats, including cholesterol.
But these variants slightly reduced the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Research has also suggested the drugs can cause calcium deposits in the arteries, which can lead to a heart attack.
But there is plenty of support for statins within the medical profession and the drugs are considered to generally lower cholesterol levels by 25 to 35 per cent.
Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor and other statins have been the standard treatment for lowering cholesterol for more than 20 years by curbing the liver’s production of cholesterol. Government drug regulator MHRA says the benefits outweigh the risk of side effects in the ‘majority of patients’.
And in 2015, NHS watchdog NICE encouraged GPs to prescribe the drugs to anyone with a 10 per cent chance of having a heart attack.
That change resulted in 17million adults – nearly all people over 40 – eligible to take the statins.
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