Cholesterol-lowering treatment associated with the development of diabetes. What is actually the effect on the heart

A meta-analysis of clinical trials shows that the use of statins, drugs used to lower cholesterol, may increase the risk of developing diabetes.

The research involved more than 150,000 participants from multiple studies. It found that people who received statins were more likely to develop diabetes compared to those who received a placebo. This effect was more evident in people who received higher doses of statins.

“Previous meta-analyses of summary data from randomized controlled trials have indicated that statin therapy may increase the risk of diabetes, but there is little information about how significant this effect is or when it occurs, and who is at greatest risk. Our aim to was to fill these gaps in our knowledge by analyzing individual participant data from large, long-term, randomized, double-blind trials of statin therapy.

See also: The diagnosis of sand in the kidneys, dismantled by the urologist. Mihai Dobra: I did not find it in the international urology treatises

We performed a meta-analysis of individual participant data from randomized controlled trials of statin therapy that were part of the CTT Collaboration. All double-blind randomized controlled trials of statin therapy with a planned duration of at least 2 years and at least 1000 participants were eligible for inclusion in this meta-analysis.

We searched for all diabetes-related adverse events, diabetes treatments, and blood glucose measurements recorded in eligible studies. Meta-analyses assessed the effects of allocation to statin therapy on new-onset diabetes (defined by diabetes-related adverse events, use of new glucose-lowering drugs, glucose concentrations or HbA1c values) and worsening of glycemia in people with diabetes ( defined by complications of glycemic control, increased use of glucose-lowering medications, or increased HbA1c of ≥0.5%).

We performed standard meta-analyses with inverse weighting of variance to assess the effects on these outcomes, according to a pre-established protocol,” says the study published in The Lancet.

It also found that most of those who developed diabetes already had blood sugar markers close to the diagnosable cutoff for diabetes. This suggests that statins may raise blood sugar levels slightly, leading to diabetes in people at higher risk.

It is important to note that the beneficial effects of statins in reducing the risk of heart disease are well documented, and any negative impact of statins on blood sugar is taken into account when calculating the overall benefits of statin treatment.

See also: Lyme disease: causes, symptoms, treatment. What are the first signs that can send you to the emergency room?

Extensive study

The study involved more than 150,000 participants and compared the effects of statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) with those of a placebo. It found that people who received statins had a higher risk of developing diabetes compared to those who received a placebo. Moreover, this increase in risk was more pronounced in those who received higher doses of statins.

The results show that blood sugar levels rose slightly in all participants, regardless of the type of treatment they received. It was also noted that those who developed diabetes already had higher blood sugar levels at the start of the study. In conclusion, statin therapy may increase the risk of diabetes, and this effect is not influenced by the type of people or the duration of treatment.

Also, people with pre-existing diabetes who received statins had a greater risk of worsening glycemic control compared to those who received a placebo.

See also: Candidiasis can affect various parts of the body. How the fungus develops in the body

Statins lower cholesterol and have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system

Statins cause a moderate, dose-dependent increase in new diabetes diagnoses that is consistent with a small increase in blood glucose, with most new diabetes diagnoses occurring in people with baseline blood glucose markers close to the diagnostic threshold for diabetes.

Importantly, any theoretical adverse effects of statins on cardiovascular risk that might arise from these small increases in blood glucose (or indeed from any other mechanism) are already accounted for in the overall reduction in cardiovascular risk that is seen with statin therapy in these studies.

“These findings should further inform clinical guidelines regarding the clinical management of people taking statin therapy. Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and LDL cholesterol is a major causal risk factor.

See also: How to lose weight when you are in menopause. Dr. Raul Cherecheș: It is the only method

Statins – PHOTO: Freepik@Habibbd

Randomized controlled trials have shown that prolonged reduction of LDL cholesterol concentrations with a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) inhibitor (ie, a statin) reduces the incidence of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke by approximately four for every 1 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol, with consistent effects in individuals with and without diabetes.

Statins have few confirmed adverse effects, but meta-analyses of summary data from published reports of large randomized controlled trials of statin therapy indicated that standard statin regimens increase the risk of new-onset diabetes by approximately 10% compared with placebo or usual care and that more intensive statin regimens still produce a 10% relative increase in risk.

However, due to the limited information available for these meta-analyses of summary data, the assessment of the effects of statin therapy on the risk of developing new diabetes is incomplete.

In particular, little is known about which types of people are at greater risk of developing diabetes due to a statin, the timing of any excess risk after starting therapy, or the effects of statin therapy on glycemic control in people with known diabetes,” the researchers note. .

See also: How to lower blood sugar in just two minutes. Medic: It has a significant impact

This review pooled data from large medical studies to better understand how statins (cholesterol drugs) influence diabetes risk. Statins have been found to slightly increase the chance of developing diabetes, especially in those who are already at risk of developing it.

This increase in diabetes is mainly due to small changes in blood sugar levels induced by statins. Importantly, these small increases in diabetes do not appear to negate the benefits of statins in reducing heart disease risk. This information should be considered in the clinical management of people taking statins.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow DCMedical on Google News as well

Did this article help you?

Follow the DCMedical Facebook page and the DCMedical Health Dose Instagram page and access more useful content for your health, disease prevention and treatment, first aid measures and useful advice from doctors and patients.