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Role of Statins in Glucose Homeostasis and Insulin Resistance

  • Diabetes and Insulin Resistance (M. Rutter, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Statins are widely used for primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), and, under the 2013 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) cholesterol treatment guidelines, more individuals are eligible for statin therapy. In this review, we summarize evidence for a mild increase in serum glucose and increased incidence of diabetes associated with statins, the hypothesized mechanisms by which statins may impair glucose homeostasis, the risk of diabetes associated with particular statins, and the net effect on ASCVD risk. As emphasized by the ACC/AHA guideline group and other experts, the risk-reducing benefits of statin therapy generally outweigh the mild rise in glucose levels or new diagnoses of diabetes. As such, an appropriate balancing of benefits and risks is critical in clinical practice as clinicians engage patients in shared decision making. Moreover, when discussing statins and risk of diabetes, this is a prime opportunity for clinicians to provide further counseling on the central importance of weight loss and adhering to a healthy lifestyle in glucose homeostasis and diabetes prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, 9000 Franklin Square Drive, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Chanukya Dahagam, Aditya Goud & Abdelhai Abdelqader

  2. Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, 600 N. Wolfe St., Carnegie 591, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Virginia S. Hahn, Roger S. Blumenthal & Seth S. Martin

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Florida Hospital, 2501 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL, 32804, USA

    Jason D’Souza

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  1. Chanukya Dahagam
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  2. Virginia S. Hahn
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  3. Aditya Goud
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Correspondence to Seth S. Martin.

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Conflict of Interest

Drs Dahagam, Hahn, Goud, D’Souza, Abdelqader, and Blumenthal have no conflicts of interest.

Dr. Martin has research support from the David and June Trone Family Foundation, PJ Schafer Cardiovascular Research Fund, American Heart Association, Aetna Foundation, CASCADE FH, Google, and Apple. Dr. Martin is listed as a co-inventor on a pending patent filed by Johns Hopkins University for the novel method of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol estimation. Dr. Martin has served as a consultant to Abbott Nutrition, Pressed Juicery, Quest Diagnostics, Sanofi/Regeneron, Amgen, and the Pew Research Center.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

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Dahagam, C., Hahn, V.S., Goud, A. et al. Role of Statins in Glucose Homeostasis and Insulin Resistance. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep 10, 40 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-016-0523-4

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