Statins Increase Lifespan in People with Type-2 Diabetes: Study

Cholesterol controlling medications help improve life span of diabetic patients by averting risk of death from heart diseases and stroke, finds a study.

It is known that diabetes increases odds of developing heart problems and strokes. According to the data by the American Heart Association, almost 65 percent of people with type-2 diabetes die from either of these two conditions. Researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found intake of Statins, a drug prescribed for reducing cholesterol levels in blood, benefits diabetic patients by preventing death from cardiovascular illnesses. They observed 371 participants from the Diabetic Heart Society for eight years and conducted CT scans to measure coronary artery calcium (CAC) or plaque deposits in the heart arteries, which is a major indicator of heart disease.

The study also created scores to evaluate the risk rates for dying from cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Those who had CAC over 1000 had increased possibility of CVDs.  Nearly 153 patients succumbed to CDC and only 218 survived.

It was seen that participants who took statins from the beginning of the trial had 50 percent higher survival rate than those who didn't. Although, recent clinical data oppose the intake of statins fearing adverse reactions on health, the current research emphasizes on the need for prescription of the medications to those with diabetes.

"Although our study was not a clinical trial, it did show that people with diabetes and heart disease can still live quite a few years by taking statins," said Don Bowden, study author and professor of biochemistry at Wake Forest Baptist, reports the Business Standard.

"These data suggest that cholesterol-lowering medications may be used less than recommended and need to be more aggressively targeted as a critical modifiable risk factor," he adds.

More information is available online in the journal of Diabetes Care.