Scientists compared high-intensity statins rosuvastatin and atorvastatin, and found both are broadly safe and effective at reducing “bad” cholesterol but could lead to diabetes
A top statin used in the UK is linked to a potential hike the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Scientists analysed the effects of potent statins rosuvastatin and atorvastatin, highlighting that while generally safe and successful at slashing levels of “bad” cholesterol, a clinical study spanning three years involving over-65s unveiled an unexpected outcome.
Participants on rosuvastatin were more than a third likelier to start needing medications for diabetes. The research involved patients from 12 hospitals who suffered from coronary artery disease, with random assignment to either statin taking place between 2016 to 2019.
Those under the rosuvastatin regime faced a 36 per cent increased chance of developing diabetes, said Prof Myeong-Ki Hong of Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, adding: “Rosuvastatin was associated with lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.”
However, he observed: “But it incurred a higher risk of new onset diabetes mellitus than atorvastatin.” Statins play a critical role in blocking liver-produced cholesterol and purging existing blood cholesterol.
Eight million people in the UK use these drugs to decrease their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and diminish the menace of heart diseases and strokes. In Britain, five frequently prescribed statins include milder pravastatin, fluvastatin, simvastatin, and the more intense atorvastatin and rosuvastatin.
The investigation, published in the British Medical Journal, reported 7.2 per cent of individuals on rosuvastatin developed Type 2 diabetes compared to just 5.3 per cent on atorvastatin, prompting a call for more thorough research
