A study published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice has demonstrated that the use of statins is associated with impaired glycaemic control in people with type 1 diabetes. In a cross-sectional study, the authors analysed 1093 people recruited from the outpatient clinic at Steno Diabetes Centre (Gentofte, Denmark). Of these, 475 (43.5%) received statins.
At baseline, statin users on average were older, had a longer diabetes duration and had more severe kidney disease. In the multivariate analysis, after adjustment for a myriad of confounding factors, including age, gender, diabetes duration, BMI, blood pressure, physical activity, family history of cardiovascular disease, physical activity, albuminuria, glomerular filtration rate, retinopathy, smoking history, cholesterol levels, left ventricular ejection fraction, triglyceride levels and use of antihypertensives, statin use was independently associated with an increase in HbA1c of 2.0 mmol/mol (0.2%; P=0.029).
Statins have previously been linked to a greater risk of type 2 diabetes, possibly as a result of decreased insulin sensitivity. This is in keeping with the current results in people with type 1 diabetes; however, the authors point out that causality cannot be inferred from their study. They also state that, given statins’ benefits in terms of cardiovascular outcomes, their findings should not lead to discontinuation of the drugs; rather, they recommend re-evaluation of insulin doses when an individual begins statin treatment.
The study can be read in full here.
