The newest chapter in the bizarre world of statin drug dangers

Don’t Overthink It

They REALLY don’t want you to think too much about this one.

Both Reuters Health and HealthDay News ran nearly identical lead paragraphs in their reporting about a new study of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

The finding: Statin use increases risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

And along with that message, of course, they had to report that this risk is really a very small thing, hardly worth mentioning in light of the magnificence of the life-saving properties of the wonder drug…the Great Statin.

It’s as if they’re delivering bad news to a grouchy king who LOVES statins and is likely to have a lowly reporter beheaded if he even suggests that the adored heart drug is less than perfect.

Here’s the Reuters headline: “Cholesterol Drugs Raise Diabetes Risk, Just a Bit.”

Do they have any idea how hilarious that is? You can imagine a Reuters reporter holding his thumb and forefinger really close together, up near his eyeball, and squinting when he says in a high squeaky voice, “Just a bit.”

Just a teeny weenie bit, Your Highness.

HealthDay went one better, adding this quote from a news release about the study: “In view of the overwhelming benefit of statins for reduction of cardiovascular events…”

Yes, the benefits are OVERWHELMING! Why, a reporter might swoon under a spell of the vapors just thinking about the wonderfully overwhelming benefits of statins.

So? Ready to be overwhelmed?

Collateral damage, damage, and more damage

University of Glasgow researchers examined the results of 13 large statin trials that included more than 91,000 subjects.

Results showed that for every 255 patients treated with statins for four years, one would develop type 2 diabetes.

Well that doesn’t sound so bad. Just one little old diabetic for every 255 statin users? Since the benefits are grossly exaggerated (I’m sorry…I meant to say “overwhelming”) what difference do a few extra diabetics make?

A huge difference.

About 20 million people take statins in the U.S. So, one case of type 2 diabetes for every 255 patients comes to well over 78,000 people who will develop or already have developed diabetes as a statin side effect. (You can forget about the “four years” business because statin users are users-for-life.)

But if you’re convinced statins are life-saving wonder drugs, then I guess thousands upon thousands of cases of diabetes are acceptable. Not to mention the untold cases of muscle damage, kidney damage, liver damage, and cognition damage.

One of the Glasgow researchers told Reuters Health that the results of their study should put a stop to statin overuse, and the drug will be given “when appropriate for the right reasons.”

Aw, that’s adorable! He must have missed the news that the FDA recently OK’d the use of the statin Crestor for people who don’t have high cholesterol. And that approval came in spite of a Crestor study that showed a link to — yep — increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

The world of statins is a world gone mad (and not just a bit!).

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Sources:
“Statins and Risk of Incident Diabetes: A Collaborative Meta-Analysis of Randomised Statin Trials” The Lancet, Published online ahead of print, 2/17/10, thelancet.com
“Cholesterol Drugs Raise Diabetes Risk, Just a Bit” Ben Hirschler, Reuters Health, 2/17/10, reutershealth.com
“Small Increase in Diabetes Risk Noted in Statin Patients” HealthDay News, 2/16/10, healthday.com