THE dose-response for statins on new onset of diabetes suggests female seniors should not be prescribed higher doses of statins, according to a decade-long study evaluating the risk of statin use in elderly Australian women.
A paper published in Drugs and Aging describes how University of Queensland and Monash University researchers performed an analysis of a population-based longitudinal cohort study with data linkage to the national death index and to national databases of non-hospital episodes of medical care and prescription medications dispensing.
Participants included 8,372 Australian women born between 1921 and 1926, with statin exposure ascertained based on prescriptions dispensed between 01 Jul 2002 and 31 Aug 2013.
Multivariable Cox regression showed there was a 17% increased risk of developing new-onset diabetes for those on the lowest statin doses, compared with a 51% increased risk for those on the highest dose.
The authors concluded that "elderly women currently taking statins should be carefully and regularly monitored for increased blood glucose to ensure early detection and appropriate management of this potential adverse effect, including consideration of de-prescribing."
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