'Statins worth diabetes risk'

[Posted: Sat 11/08/2012 by Niall Hunter, Editor www.irishhealth.com]

The benefits to your heart of taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs outweight any potential health risks, according to a new study.

The heart benefits of taking the commonly-prescribed statin drugs outweigh any increased risk of developing diabetes from taking the drugs, US scientists have concluded.

They say that while statins can raise your risk of developing type 2 diabetes if you are already predisposed to this condition, their track record in reducing in heart attacks and strokes justify the prescription of statins for those with high cholesterol.

Doctors from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston looked at data from a trial that reported that that taking statins can result in an increased risk of getting diabetes.

They found that in those taking statins during the trial, the drugs raised the risk of developing diabetes in patients already likely to get this disease.

However, these patients were still 39% less likely to develop heart attacks or strokes while using statins, and were 17% less likely to die during the five-year medical trial period

It was also found that patients who were not already at risk of developing diabetes had a 52% reduction in cardiovascular illness when taking statins, with no increase in the risk of getting diabetes.

The research was published in the Lancet journal.