Atorvastatin Causes Insulin Resistance & Increase Ambient Glycemia in Hypercholesterolemic Patients - Journal of the Amercian College of Cardiology 2010 Mar 23; 55(12):1209-16. Koh KK, et al.
Elevated fasting insulin is considered the single greatest marker to assess a persons risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
HbA1c levels are able to depict what a person’s average blood sugar levels have been over the preceding weeks or months.
Insulin sensitivity describes how effectively insulin is secreted when needed by the body and how sensitive a person is to insulin. High insulin sensitivity means that a smaller amount is needed to perform the task of clearing dangerous blood sugar. Low insulin sensitivity can lead to many health problems, and will elicit a greater production of insulin, which in turn can result in hyperinsulinaemia, which is associated with diabetes, damage to blood vessels, high blood-pressure and heart disease, as well as osteoporosis and cancer.
In this study, 44 patients were give a placebo and 42, 44, 43 & 40 patients were given 10, 20, 40 & 80mg of Atorvastatin daily, respectively, during a two month treatment period.
The results showed that:
Atorvastatin at 10, 20, 40 & 80mg daily, significantly increased fasting insulin levels by 25%, 42%, 31% & 45% respectively.
Atorvastatin at 10, 20, 40 & 80mg daily, significantly increased glycated haemoglobin levels (HbA1c) by 2%, 5%, 5% & 5% respectively.
Atorvastatin at 10, 20, 40 & 80mg daily, decreased insulin sensitivity by 1%, 3%, 3% & 4% respectively.
Increased fasting insulin, increased HbA1c levels and decreased insulin sensitivity, all indicate an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Links to the supporting article can be found here: