Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The benefits of taking cholesterol-lowering medications outweigh the increased risk some patients have of developing diabetes from using the drugs, a report out Thursday says.
Patients who were at higher risk for diabetes were 39% less likely to develop a cardiovascular illness on statins and 17% less likely to die. Patients who were not already at risk for diabetes and were taking statins had a 52% reduction in cardiovascular illness, and no increase in diabetes risk.
"When we focus only on the risk (of diabetes) we may be doing a disservice to our patients," says lead author Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "As it turns out for this data, the hazard of being on a statin is limited almost entirely to those well on their way to getting diabetes."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-08-09/statins-diabetes/56920686/1?csp=34news
Patients who were at higher risk for diabetes were 39% less likely to develop a cardiovascular illness on statins and 17% less likely to die. Patients who were not already at risk for diabetes and were taking statins had a 52% reduction in cardiovascular illness, and no increase in diabetes risk.
"When we focus only on the risk (of diabetes) we may be doing a disservice to our patients," says lead author Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "As it turns out for this data, the hazard of being on a statin is limited almost entirely to those well on their way to getting diabetes."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-08-09/statins-diabetes/56920686/1?csp=34news