Just on the heels of our beloved aspirin being linked to macular degeneration, now a new study suggests that statins, you know Crestor, Lipitor and the like, could lead to diabetes in older women.
In a study of more than 150,000 diabetes-free women in their 50s, 60s and 70s, about 10,200 developed diabetes six or seven years after the investigation began. Forty-eight percent of the women taking statins were more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than those not taking statins.
Researchers are not sure why this is so. Statins’ effects on the muscles and liver could cause the body to make slightly more sugar than it normally would, or the drugs could cause users to exercise less, they suggested.
Still researchers agree that the benefits of these drugs to lower cholesterol and reduce heart attack risk outweighs their potential side effects.