Statins, blood glucose, . . . and other stories

Statins and diabetesA meta-analysis by the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration using individual level data from 23 trials confirms that statin therapy increases the risk of diabetes. The explanation is that statins cause a small dose dependent upward shift in blood glucose levels. In people with baseline glycaemic markers that are close to the diagnostic threshold for diabetes, this is enough to tip them over the edge. However, any adverse effects from this small rise in glucose have already been accounted for in the estimates of reduced cardiovascular risk seen in these statin trials. So it’s almost certainly nothing to worry about (Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00040-8).Caffeine and Parkinson’s diseaseSeveral prospective studies have linked coffee consumption to a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease. Other sources of caffeine, such as tea, cola, and chocolate also seem protective. In contrast, decaffeinated coffee offers no protective effect, which suggests that it’s caffeine and its metabolites,…
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