The Study
Effects of statin therapy on diagnoses of new-onset diabetes and worsening glycaemia in large-scale randomised blinded statin trials: an individual participant data meta-analysis
This study looked at data from lots of people who were randomly assigned to take statins or not, and found that those who took statins were a little more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes later. But it’s not because statins magically turn people diabetic—it’s mostly because they nudge blood sugar up a tiny bit, and if your sugar was already almost too high, you might cross the line and get diagnosed.
Analysis score
Maximum 100 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Where the score came from
Statin pills help prevent heart attacks, but they can slightly raise blood sugar in some people, especially those already close to having diabetes.
Where does this study sit?
Systematic Reviews & Meta-analyses
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control
Max 58Cross-Sectional
Max 44Case Reports & Series
Max 30Expert Opinion
Max 580 / 100
Quality score
The highest quality evidence. These studies systematically search, appraise, and synthesize results from multiple individual studies, providing the most reliable summary of current knowledge.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The increase is small: for every 100 people on high-dose statins for a year, about 1 extra person gets diagnosed with diabetes.
- 2But statins still prevent far more heart attacks than they cause diabetes cases.
- 3People on high-dose statins had a 36% higher chance of getting diabetes than those on placebo.
- 4Most new cases happened in people whose blood sugar was already near the diabetes threshold before starting statins.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology
Year
2024
Authors
Christina David Lisa Jonathan Enti Kelly Heather Charlie Lis Reith Preiss Blackwell Emberson Spata Davies Halls, C. Reith, David Preiss, L. Blackwell, J. Emberson, E. Spata, Kelly Davies, H. Halls, Charlie Harper, Lisa Holland, Kate Wilson, A. Roddick, C. P. Cannon, Robert Clarke, H. Colhoun, P. Durrington, S. Goto, G. A. Hitman, G. Hovingh, J. Jukema, Wolfgang Koenig, Ian C. Marschner, B. Mihaylova, Connie Newman, J. Probstfield, Paul M. Ridker, M. Sabatine, N. Sattar, Gregory G. Schwartz, L. Tavazzi, Andrew M. Tonkin, Stella Trompet, Harvey White, Salim Yusuf, Jane Armitage, Anthony C. Keech, J. Simes, R. Collins, C. Baigent, Elizabeth Barnes, J. Fulcher, W. Herrington, Adrienne Kirby, R. O'Connell, M. Blazing, E. Braunwald, James de Lemos, Sabina A. Murphy, T. Pedersen, M. Pfeffer, Stephen W. Wiviott, Michael Clearfield, John R. Downs, Antonio M. Gotto, Stephen Weis, Bengt Fellström, Hallvard Holdaas, A. Jardine, David Gordon, Barry J. Davis, Curt D. Furberg, R. Grimm, S. Pressel, Mahboob Rahman, Michael J. Koren, B. Dahlöf, Ajay Gupta, Neil R. Poulter, Peter S Sever, Hans Wedel, Robert H. Knopp, S. Cobbe, R. Schmieder, F. Zannad, D. J. Betteridge, J. Fuller, A. Neil, C. Hawkins, L. Moyé, F. Sacks, J. Kjekshus, J. Wikstrand, Christoph Wanner, V. Krane, M. Franzosi, R. Latini, Donata Lucci, Aldo P Maggioni, Roberto Marchioli, E. Nicolis, Gianni Tognoni, J. Bosch, Eva M Lonn, Louise Bowman, Martin Landray, S. Parish, R. Peto, J. J. Kastelein, Robert Glynn, Jean G Macfadyen, S. MacMahon, John Shaw, P. Serruys, G. Knatterud, G. Blauw, I. Ford, Peter Macfarlane, C. Packard, James Shepherd, R. Bulbulia, R. Haynes, P. Sleight, Pierre Amarenco, K. Welch, Lars Wilhelmsen, P. Barter, J. Larosa, S. Kean, M. Robertson, Robin Young, H. Arashi, M. Flather, U. Goldbourt, J. Hopewell, G. Kitas, L. Smeeth, J. Tobert, J. Varigos, Emily Banks, Michael Blastland, Stephen Evans, R. Temple, P. Weissberg, Janet Wittes
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.