By now regular readers know that I'm high on statins. They can do a lot more than just lower your 'bad' (LDL or low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Their ability to delay mortality from cardiovascular disease has led some to call them the 'new aspirin'. Now there's a meta-analysis of 14 studies of the effects of statins in diabetic patients, published in the Lancet .

There were data from 18,500 diabetics (most of them type 2) that could be compared with 71,000 without diabetes in these controlled studies. Analyzing some 3,200 major cardiovascular events over a 4-year period, it was found that there was a 9% reduction in mortality in diabetics for every 38 mg/dl (1 mmol/L) reduction in LDL cholesterol, and a 13% reduction in non-diabetics.

Both diabetic and non-diabetic patients had a 21% reduction in vascular events (heart attack, severe angina, stroke, or heart failure) with each 38 mg/dL fall in LDL cholesterol. The beneficial effect of statins was seen in diabetics whether there was a prior history of vascular disease or not.

The authors of this meta-analysis say that: "statin therapy should be considered for all diabetic individuals who are at sufficiently high risk of vascular events" - in other words, not just those with abnormal lipid levels.

Source

HealthandAge Blog