Taking strong cholesterol drugs to get LDL very low doesn’t make you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than taking standard doses.

Scientific Claim

Very low LDL-cholesterol levels (<40 mg/dL) are not associated with an increased risk of new-onset diabetes compared to higher LDL-C levels, based on pooled data from 10 randomized trials.

Original Statement

“new-onset diabetes: OR 1.16, 0.91–1.47, P = 0.23;”

From study:Safety and efficacy of very low LDL-cholesterol intensive lowering: a meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized trials.

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The abstract reports a non-significant trend with wide confidence interval crossing 1.0. The conclusion 'not associated' is appropriately cautious. Full trial methodology is unverified, so 'association' is correct.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Safety and efficacy of very low LDL-cholesterol intensive lowering: a meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized trials.

Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Human

2023 Feb 2

This big study looked at over 100,000 people and found that having very low 'bad' cholesterol doesn’t make you more likely to get diabetes, even though some people were worried it might.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Safety and efficacy of very low LDL-cholesterol intensive lowering: a meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized trials.

Score: 59

DOI: 10.1093/ehjcvp/pvac049

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