Posted on 06/30/2019 5:40:00 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A study of thousands of patients' health records found that those who were prescribed cholesterol-lowering statins had at least double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Researchers found that statin users had more than double the risk of a diabetes diagnosis compared to those who didn't take the drugs. Those who took the cholesterol-lowering drugs for more than two years had more than three times the risk of diabetes.
"The fact that increased duration of statin use was associated with an increased risk of diabetes—something we call a dose-dependent relationship—makes us think that this is likely a causal relationship," Zigmont said.
"That said, statins are very effective in preventing heart attacks and strokes. I would never recommend that people stop taking the statin they've been prescribed based on this study, but it should open up further discussions about diabetes prevention and patient and provider awareness of the issue."
Researchers also found that statin users were 6.5 percent more likely to have a troublingly high HbA1c value—a routine blood test for diabetes that estimates average blood sugar over several months.
Results suggest that individuals taking statins should be followed closely to detect changes in glucose metabolism and should receive special guidance on diet and exercise for prevention.
The study was done retrospectively, meaning that the researchers looked back at existing records from a group of patients to determine if there were any possible connections between statin prescriptions and diabetes. Previous research has suggested a connection, but this study design allowed for a glimpse at what is happening naturally in the clinical setting, rather than what happens in a prospective trial that randomly assigns some people to statins and some people to placebo, said Zigmont, who is now an assistant professor at Southern Connecticut State University.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Bingo. Surely the researchers had enough sense to control for the inherent “fellow traveler disease” bias.
Nope.
"Who knew that eating high saturated fat and carbs would cause diabetes."
It doesn't.
I won’t take them though the doctor has tried many times to get me to. I’m mid-60s and no signs of atherosclerosis so far. I just don’t see the need for the drugs to treat just over the standards clinical norms or as a preventative.
I also believe statins played a role in my sister’s dementia! She was on them for over 3 years. Her lawyers told me that there were studies that showed memory loss and confusion from station drugs.
one of the other dirty little secrets about statins is that big pharm always promotes RELATIVE benefits: “Reduces cardiac events by 33%!”, that is, if events drop from 6% to 4%, that’s a 33% improvement ...
However, if one looks at ABSOLUTE benefits, no matter what is measured or how it is measured, the benefit from statins almost never rises above a 2% absolute improvement ...
I took some and had my right hip joint give me immediate pains. Hell no. plenty of information out there. www.askapatient.com is your friend. Saved me and my friends from much grief. Some of the *hit is made from snake venom of all things. I’ll pass. Natural herbs for me from now on. I now have a probable terminal lung disease. I think it was because of all the antibiotics given to me by the VA over a fatty tumor on my neck, instead of outright cutting the thing off. An untreated case of pneumonia has now led to my current condition.
And type 2 diabetes is what’s known as an independent risk factor for heart disease, which means it does a lot of mischief on its own, largely by accelerating atherosclerosis, the very process statins are supposed to slow down...if indeed they do.
The danger of high cholesterol is well documented and the use of statins does lower this danger dramatically. Per the article there is an increased danger of diabetes in those that use statins.
This may be correct or not. It should also be noted that many with high cholesterol are also obese which is a major risk factor for diabetes. The point being without all the risk factors of the patient considered this article is of no worth even though it “might be” correct.
We have many years of data on the use of statins. I suspect this article is in error.
cpdiii (Pharmacist)
So you’re a pharmacist, lol. Askapatient has plenty of examples of individuals who have stated/noted satins have put them in wheelchairs. Really. Now we have years of data on statins. Yeah, many years now of personal experiences on what it did to them, they’ve got “good cholesterol” though, lol. Tragic, You are tragically clueless.
Correlation does not imply causation...
“The danger of high cholesterol is well documented”
Not really. “Firstly, the evidence about the association between high LDL levels and heart disease is more complicated than it first appears. A follow-up from the initial Framingham study suggested that there was only an increase in mortality, by heart disease or other causes, in people with higher cholesterol levels under the age of 50 [6]. This is significant if we want to offer medication or lifestyle advice about preventing heart disease to those over 50 years old. A recent systematic review even suggests that patients over the age of 60 actually lived longer if they had higher LDL levels, directly contradicting the hypothesis that you are more likely to die of heart disease the higher your cholesterol levels are....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RKrFQ-cKZc&t=3s
Thank you, That is why I use Co Q-10 now daily. Time has shown statins actually suck this right out of your system. How moronic is that.
Recent FDA recommendation....stop taking low dose aspirin unless your family has a history of heart issues,,,(causes possible internal bleeding over time)
Another FDA announcement..Statins causes bad decision making with elders.
You make a valid point.
My point to is, I stopped taking the stating drugs and it had no affect on my cholesterol levels.
I had as much affect on the levels by changing my diet and losing the WI term fat I had put on.
But you’re right. I will tell her. Thank you for your advice.
My doctor said i should take statins because, while my cholesterol is good, because I’m a man over 60, they changed the ‘rules’ and want me to take the poison - I told him that w/o some better “reasoning” than that, I would have to decline...
Whu=y is it that these drugs all turn out this way?
I stopped taking statins because they made me sick and weak. I simply cut down on sugar and other carbohydrates in my diet, and maintained my exercise regime and lost 25 pounds. And I don’t miss the crap I stopped eating.
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