What this suggests is that the general population is at a higher risk of getting diabetes with statins compared to what has been reported previously. What was present in the region was a risk of between 10% and 22%.

Treating diabetes with Statins

In the new study, the researchers realized that most of the people were taking simvastatin and atorvastatin and the diabetes risk was dependent on the dose for the two agents as reported by the researchers. However, in spite of this, Markku Laakso who is a senior author at the University of Eastern Finland & Kuopio University Hospital said that despite the fact that the risk of suffering from diabetes seems to be increased by statin treatment, there is no doubt whatsoever on the effectiveness of statin when it comes to reduction of cardiovascular risk.

He continued to say that he won’t just make a conclusion from the study done that people should stop taking treatment of statin, particularly those patients with have been suffering from myocardial infarction. But one thing that is worth mentioning is that obese people are at a relatively higher risk as well as those with some family members who are diabetic and so on. Such people are advised to reduce their dose of statin whenever possible since a high dosage of the treatment usually increases the risk.

When Alvin C Powers of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville Tennesse was asked to comment, he explained that there some limitations when it comes to drawing some conclusions from the study. While speaking as part of Endocrine Society, he reported that one of the things worthy noting is that the study never examined how statin therapy could be beneficial to people and only focused on the risk posed by diabetes. It is well known that every treatment comes with its share of risks and benefits. There are certain situations that have proven clearly the benefits availed by statins. In such instances, the benefits earned would essentially outweigh the risks posed by diabetes in most power as Dr. Powers noted.

Insulin secretion & sensitivity affected by statins

The researchers noted that in the previous studies there was a suggestion that the risk of getting diabetes at various levels could be increased by use of Statin. However, in most of these, the populations used in the study were selective, particularly in statin trials that have included participants who are at a high risk of getting cardiovascular disease. What this means is that the diabetes risk in various clinical trials may differ from the real situation in the general population. More often than not, diagnosis of diabetes in previous studies has been based on measuring fasting glucose levels.