London – If you have high cholesterol you may be less likely to develop diabetes, a study suggests.
Scientists found that patients whose cholesterol was boosted by a genetic disorder were half as likely to have type 2 diabetes. The research may help explain why statins, taken to lower cholesterol, increase the risk of diabetes.
The study, looked at 25,000 patients with inherited hypercholesterolemia, a genetic condition that causes high cholesterol levels. It found that the incidence of type 2 diabetes among those with the disorder was significantly lower than among relatives unaffected by hypercholesterolemia.
The condition means the body is unable to remove low density lipoprotein – LDL, or ‘bad cholesterol’ – from the blood. As a result, researchers suggest, this naturally reduces the level of bad cholesterol in the pancreas.
This leads to lower rates of diabetes, which may suggest why statins can trigger the condition, the Journal of the American Medical Association reports.
Some studies suggest those taking cholesterol-lowering agents have up to a 46 per cent higher risk of developing diabetes.
However, experts say the benefits of taking statins – which help reduce heart attacks and are prescribed to eight million UK adults – far outweigh the risks.
Daily Mail