Patients taking statins face an increased risk of developing diabetes, warn researchers.
The first review into a suspected link with cholesterol-lowering drugs shows a 9 percent rise in the chance of acquiring one form of the disease.
More than six million British adults taking statins are being advised to carry on taking them by researchers and leading medical charities, who say the benefits far outweigh the risks.
Statins are prescribed only to those at risk of a heart attack or stroke, but in the last year experts have been urging that everyone over the age of 50 should receive the powerful drugs.
The review of 13 statin trials published in The Lancet medical journal involved a total of 91 000 patients.
The researchers, led by Professor Naveed Sattar and Dr David Preiss of Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Glasgow University, found a 9 percent increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes in those taking statins.
Altogether 4 278 people developed diabetes over an average of four years, with 174 more diabetics identified among those taking statins compared with control therapy. The highest risk was among those over 60.
Preiss said it was not clear what was causing the risk. It was also unclear whether patients with diabetes taking statins would find their condition worsened as a result. – Daily Mail