Study: Statins could increase the risk of diabetes

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published 5 March 2015

Statins can lower cholesterol, but their other health effects may not be so positive. A study published in the journal Diabetologia found that the drugs could increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes in white men by as much as 46 percent.

Researchers in Finland found that after six years, white men who were prescribed statins had a 46 percent higher risk of developing diabetes than those not taking statins. The statins made patients resistant to insulin, and the patients worst affected were the ones who started the study with the lowest blood glucose levels.