Although statins may increase glycaemia in type 2 diabetes, available data are from single-dose intervention trials or studies with no adjustment for concomitant changes in blood glucose-lowering therapy. To provide real-life data covering common statin types and doses, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) data from patients in the Fremantle Diabetes Study phases I (FDS1) and II (FDS2) and data on stable diabetes treatment before and after statin initiation were analysed. Intensity of statin therapy was categorized as low, moderate or high based on within-group dose regimens with similar serum LDL cholesterol-lowering effects. In pooled analyses of 335 eligible patients in FDS1 and FDS2, there was no change in HbA1c in the low-intensity group (0.04% or 0.4 mmol/mol; n = 159; p = .40), but a mean 0.22% (2.4 mmol/mol) increase in the moderate-intensity group (n = 185; p = .022) and a larger mean increase of 1.05% (11.5 mmol/mol) increase in the high-intensity group (n = 11; p = .023). These real-life data suggest a dose-response relationship between statin treatment intensity and glycaemia that has potential clinical implications.
Keywords: glycaemic control; lipid-lowering therapy.
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.