The Risk of Developing New Onset Diabetes Mellitus (Diabetogenicity) in Statin Treated Patients

Abstract

Despite the fact that statins are currently the preferred medical treatment for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease as well as the treatment of hyperlipidemia, many recent research evidences suggested that statin therapy can have adverse effects on patients' glycemic control as well as increased risk of NOD. The results of these studies, though, are somewhat inconsistent. This study aims to look into how statin exposure affects FBG levels and HbA1c levels, Furthermore, we want to draw attention to the elements that influence statins' ability to cause diabetes. This retrospective cohort study was carried out at the Benghazi National Heart Center (NHC) from March 2021 to December 2021. 200 patients [143 men (71.5%), 57 women (28.5%)] They were divided into 2 groups. The first group includes CHD patients on Atorvastatin for more than 2 months. The second group includes CHD patients not taking any statin medication. Any known diabetic case was excluded from both groups. FBG and HbA1c were measured for both groups. In addition, the correlation between statin exposure and FBG-HbA1c was measured along total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), ALT and AST. Out of 100 participant taking atorvastatin we find 36 (36%) cases of NOD compared to 7 (7%) cases with NOD in the Non-statin group. Patients were sub-divide into groups according to dose of atorvastatin .it was 18 NOD case out of 77 (23.4%) for 40 mg/day and 7 NOD case out of 23 (30.4%) for 80 mg subgroup. Statin therapy is at least partially to blame for the emergence of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this study, Atorvastatin has a dose-dependent diabetogenic effect, which tends to increase the FBG and HbA1c. However, other variables such as age, obesity and the presence of any element of metabolic syndrome augment or amplify this effect. It is necessary for patients on statin therapy, especially those with multiple risk factors such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and pre-diabetes, should have their glycemic status checked regularly for early detection of any unfavorable alterations in blood glucose levels.