If you’re a woman over age 75, statin drugs may be much more likely to give you diabetes than researchers ever suspected. Here’s how they found out…by studying women! Until now, the majority of participants in statin trials have been males. Females, especially those who are elderly, have been underrepresented.
The results are a wake-up call for any older woman who is taking a statin—or considering one.
Background: One big concern with statins, which reduce LDL cholesterol, is an increased risk of developing diabetes. For people on statins, on average, there is a 9% increased risk of developing diabetes over time, according to one meta-analysis.
The dilemma for individuals is how to weigh the risks of new-onset diabetes against the benefits of reduced cardiovascular disease. If you’ve already had a heart attack, for example, taking a statin may reduce the risk for a second one. The case for taking a statin to prevent a first heart attack is much shakier.
But if your risk for developing diabetes is actually much higher than “average,” that changes the calculation in a big way. And we now know that’s the case for older women.
Study: Researchers analyzed data on statin use and new-onset diabetes in more than 8,000 women aged 76 to 82 who were followed for more than 10 years as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. None of the women had diabetes at the beginning of the study. About half were taking statins. Over the 10 years, about 5% of the women in the study got a diagnosis of diabetes.
Finding: Statin use was associated with greatly increased diabetes risk. Women who took statins were 33% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes over 10 years than those who didn’t take the drug. Women on higher statin doses were 50% more likely to get diabetes. That’s significant because, over time, dosages for these drugs tend to go up.
Bottom line: According to the study authors, elderly women prescribed statins can work with their doctors in three ways to try to limit their diabetes risk…
• Avoid high doses of statins.
• Get your blood sugar level checked often. That can be an early warning sign for increasing diabetes risk.
• Discuss “de-prescribing” with your doctor. Translation? Follow a heart-healthy lifestyle and…stop taking statins entirely!
To learn more, see the Bottom Line article, “Certain Statins Are Linked to Diabetes. Is Yours?“
