STATINS RAISE DIABETES RISK

Experts sound new alarm over cholesterol pill

PENSIONERS who take statins increase their risk of developing diabetes by up to 50 per cent, research shows.

Those on high doses of the cholesterolbusting pills are more prone to suffer dangerous spikes in blood sugar levels.

Scientists say an unwanted by-product of the drug is a link to the chronic condition.

Studies show those prescribed statins are less likely to develop heart disease but the downside is it appears to make them more vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers found over-75s are a third more likely to be struck down if they are taking statins. But the risk increased to 50 per cent for those on higher doses of the tablets.

Dr Mark Jones, who led the research, said: “We found almost 50 per cent of women in their late-70s and 80s in the study took statins and five per cent were diagnosed with new onset

diabetes. What is most concerning was we found a ‘dose effect’ where the risk of diabetes increased as the dosage of statins increased.

“Over the 10 years of the study most of the women progressed to higher doses of statins. GPs and their elderly female patients should be aware of the risks.”

The study will reignite debate over the safety of a drug taken by millions of Britons each day.

A large-scale British review last year showed statins were the safest and most effective way of preventing heart attack and stroke but they still remain highly controversial.

Professor Alan Sinclair, director of the Foundation for Diabetes Research in Older People, said: “Statin use and increased diabetes risk is not new and clinicians must continue to minimise risk due to the adverse effects of these drugs by careful prescribing but at the same time recognise clear cardiovascular benefits from their use.

“In older people, who are already at increased diabetes risk from other causes, lifestyle modification with sufficient exercise and good nutrition may offset the development of diabetes in many cases.”

The latest study by the University of Queensland, in Australia, is the first to focus on the effect of statins on female pensioners with experts saying they should be regularly monitored.

The findings, published in the journal Drugs and Ageing, were based on prescription and survey data from 8,372 women born between 1921 and 1926.

All were alive in 2003 and free of diabetes. Statin exposure was gained from prescriptions dispensed between 2002 and 2013.

Statins work by lowering cholesterol, a key risk factor in a host of killer cardiovascular conditions like coronary heart disease.

Challenge

The most common are fluvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin courses of which cost around £2 a month.

It is thought the number of people on the pills could rise to 12 million if most men over 50 and women over 60 took the drug as a precaution.

However up to 10 per cent of those on statins can experience sore throat, nausea, digestive problems, muscle and joint pain and increased blood sugar levels.

Oliver Jelley, editor of the British journal The Diabetes Times, said: “Statins have long proved controversial despite the ability they have to lower cholesterol and this research raises further questions about blanket use of the drug.

“Type 2 is a serious challenge for everyone who develops it especially older people, a group where it is particularly prevalent with up to one in four care home residents alone having the condition.”

Guidelines state that anyone thought to have more than a 10 per cent chance of heart attack or stroke within a decade should be offered statins on the NHS.