Even though this study is from Australia, it still applies to older women in the United States.
According to a University of Queensland (UQ) study, older Australian
women taking cholesterol-lowering statins face a significantly
increased risk of developing diabetes.
UQ School of Public Health researcher
Dr Mark Jones said women over 75 faced a 33 per cent higher chance of
developing diabetes if they were taking statins. The risk increased
to over 50 per cent for women taking higher doses of statins.
"We found that almost 50 per cent
of women in their late seventies and eighties in the study took
statins, and five per cent were diagnosed with new-onset diabetes,"
Dr Jones said.
"Statins are highly prescribed in
this age group but there are very few clinical trials looking at
their effects on older women.
"The vast majority of research is
on 40- to 70-year-old men."
Statins, a class of drugs that lower
cholesterol in the blood, are prescribed to reduce the incidence of
cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.
"What's most concerning was that
we found a 'dose effect' where the risk of diabetes increased as the
dosage of statins increased.
"Over the 10 years of the study
most of the women progressed to higher doses of statins," Dr
Jones said.
"GPs and their elderly female
patients should be aware of the risks.
"Those elderly women taking
statins should be carefully and regularly monitored for increased
blood glucose to ensure early detection and management of diabetes."
The research was based on prescription
and survey data from 8372 women born between 1921 and 1926 who are
regularly surveyed as part of the Women's Health Australia study
(also known as the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health).
The research is published in Drugs and
Ageing.
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