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Written By: Agencies | Updated : October 8, 2014 12:35 PM IST
According to a new study the benefits of having medications containing statins are greater than its risk and slightly outweighing the risks associated with diabetes. The study was conducted by the researchers from UCL and the University of Glasgow which took into account nearly 130,000 participants from clinical trials that tested the effect of these drugs on heart disease and stroke. The results of the assigned statins versus placebo and higher versus lower doses of statins, showed to have a small increase (12 percent over a four-year period ) in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and weight gain of 240g in the test group.
David Preiss of the University of Glasgow Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, said that weight gain is a risk factor for diabetes which might help explain the small increased risk of diabetes observed in people taking statins. The researchers who also studied the mechanism of action found that Statins work by reducing the efficiency of a liver enzyme involved in cholesterol production, which causes liver cells to trap more low-density lipoprotein (LDL-) cholesterol from the bloodstream, reducing its circulating level. This mechanism is thought to underlie the efficacy of statins in lowering the risk of major vascular events.
The researchers added that the effects of the genetic variants are orders of magnitude lower than the effects of statins. There is also no indication from this study that an individual's genetic make-up will meaningfully affect their clinical response to statin treatment. Statin drugs should continue to be prescribed without the need for any form of genetic testing. The study was published in The Lancet.
Source: ANI
Photo source: Getty images
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