Cholesterol-Cutting Statins Found to Raise Diabetes Risk by 46%
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Millions of people take pills known as statins each year to lower their cholesterol levels. A new study shows the medicine also raises their risk of developing diabetes by 46 percent.
The report in the journal Diabetologia found the drugs, including Pfizer Inc.’s Lipitor and AstraZeneca Plc’s Crestor, make the body less sensitive to insulin and reduce production of the hormone used to convert blood sugar to energy. Patients should be aware of the potential risk and consider lowering the amount of the medicine they use, said researcher Markku Laakso, a professor at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio.