Three studies have determined women who take the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor have an increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. In one study published by The Archives of Internal Medicine, the risk for older women was as high as 48 percent compared to women who do not take Lipitor.
As a result of the new research, the Food and Drug Administration issued a health warning in January 2012 requiring the labels of Lipitor and other statins to include the increased risk for diabetes.
“The announcement, medication label change and health advisory by the FDA were long overdue and have brought this important public health issue to light,” wrote Dr. Eric J. Topol, a professor of genomics at the Scripps Research Institute, in a New York Times article.
Lipitor works by preventing an enzyme in the liver from creating low density lipids (LDLs), a type of cholesterol that blocks the arteries. The drug essentially blocks the production of this cholesterol thereby reducing the user’s cholesterol level and risk of heart disease.
