Statin Users Can Experience Weight Gain with Diabetes Onset

Statins will lower cholesterol and increase weight in diabetic patients…. 

Statins, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, have been on the market for many years. Statins are very effective lipid-lowering agents with minimal side effect profile. Statins are classified by their potency; high potency statins include atorvastatin and rosuvastatin. Other statins include fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin and simvastatin. Statins work by inhibiting the rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis. The most common adverse effects include: muscle and joint aches, nausea, diarrhea and constipation. More serious adverse effects include: liver damage, rhabdomyolysis, hyperglycemia and neurologic effects.

Previous studies have evaluated and proven the efficacy and safety of statins. Many studies focus on which statin has the least occurrences of muscle toxicities. Other studies have evaluated ways to safely combine a statin and another agent to better control cholesterol. Some studies are even testing statins with anti-hypertensive agents. In more recent years, many researchers have noted the increased incidence of hyperglycemia in patients using statin therapy.

This study evaluated 7,595 patients without overt diabetes. The researchers wanted to investigate whether change in body weight predicts new-onset diabetes mellitus. The participants were randomized to atorvastatin 10 mg or 80 mg/day and followed for approximately 4.9 years. Of the 7,595 participants, 659 patients developed diabetes. When the data was further evaluated, researchers found that 8.1% of the newly-diagnosed diabetics were taking atorvastatin 10 mg; 9.2% of the newly-diagnosed diabetics were taking atorvastatin 80 mg. One year after randomization, both men and women participants had significant weight gain. The most weight gain occurred in patients that developed diabetes within the study follow-up period. Similar weight gain was observed in patients with normal glucose levels. They concluded by warning patients and prescribers the importance of weight control while taking statins.

• Older cholesterol guidelines focused primarily on managing LDL levels; the new guidelines stress future risks for heart disease and stroke.
• New cholesterol guidelines also suggest that with more people taking statins, there would be 475,000 less cardiac events.
• Not having enough cholesterol can interfere with memory and hormone production.

Ong K, Waters D, Messia M, et. al. Effect of Change in Body Weight on Incident Diabetes Mellitus in Patients with Stable Coronary

Artery Disease Treated with Atorvastatin (From the Treating to New Target [TNT] Study). American Journal of Cardiology. 2014 Mar.