by Colin Kenny, GP, Dromore
The METSIM (Metabolic Syndrome in Men) cohort study was conducted to investigate the mechanisms underlying the increased risk of type 2 diabetes associated with statin treatment. The effects of statin treatment were assessed on the risk of type 2 diabetes and deterioration towards hyperglycaemia in 8749 men without diabetes who were followed up for 6 years. The researchers also investigated the mechanisms of possible statin-induced diabetes by evaluating changes in insulin resistance and insulin secretion.
This study showed that statin therapy was associated with a 46% increase in the risk of incident type 2 diabetes after adjustment for confounding factors. The findings also allow us to start to understand the possible underlying mechanism for this phenomenon as statin treatment was associated with decreases in insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. The investigators also found that these mechanisms might be dose dependent for simvastatin and atorvastatin.
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