statin treatment and diabetes risk

Last reviewed 12/2020

A meta-analysis into the risk of diabetes associated with statin use has been undertaken (1):

  • statin therapy was associated with a 9% increased risk for incident diabetes (odds ratio [OR] 1.09; 95% CI 1.02-1.17), with little heterogeneity (I(2)=11%) between trials
  • meta-regression showed that risk of development of diabetes with statins was highest in trials with older participants, but neither baseline body-mass index nor change in LDL-cholesterol concentrations accounted for residual variation in risk
  • treatment of 255 (95% CI 150-852) patients with statins for 4 years resulted in one extra case of diabetes.

Statin therapy in adult women: risk of diabetes versus cardiovascular benefit

  • review of the literature indicates that the cardiovascular benefits of statins appear to outweigh the risk for statin-related diabetes (2)

NICE have stated "..Do not stop statins because of an increase in blood glucose level or HbA1c.."

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