Published in May 2013 in The British Medical Journal, a study by AA Carter et al. titled “Risk of incident diabetes among patients treated with statins: population based study.” aimed to evaluate the risk for new onset diabetes posed by different cholesterol lowering drugs.
This study evaluated the health of patients over 66 years of age in Ontario, Canada who used different “HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins)” in the treatment of high cholesterol, and the drugs included in the study were pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor), simvastatin (Zocor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Mevacor, Altoprev), and atorvastatin (Lipitor).
Carter et al. (2013) explain their findings as follows: “Compared with pravastatin (the reference drug in all analyses), there was an increased risk of incident diabetes with atorvastatin (adjusted hazard ratio 1.22, 95% confidence interval 1.15 to 1.29), rosuvastatin (1.18, 1.10 to 1.26), and simvastatin (1.10, 1.04 to 1.17). There was no significantly increased risk among people who received fluvastatin (0.95, 0.81 to 1.11) or lovastatin (0.99, 0.86 to 1.14).”
In non-scientific terms, this means that the Carter et al. (2013) team found that compared to Pravachol users, people who used Lipitor were 22% more likely to develop diabetes. People who used Crestor were 18% more likely to develop diabetes, and people who used Zocor 10% more likely. Patients who used Lescol, or Mevacor/Altoprev were no more likely to develop new onset diabetes than patients who used Pravachol.
Due to the fact that the Pfizer, the manufacturer of Lipitor (atorvastatin), has failed to adequately warn users of the risk for diabetes associated with atorvastatin, Lipitor lawsuits are currently being filed across the country. If you or a loved one used Lipitor and recently received a diabetes diagnosis, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation from Pfizer through a Lipitor diabetes lawsuit.
For more information, or for a free, no-obligation case consultation, please do not hesitate to contact our team of Lipitor lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve, even from the largest of pharmaceutical manufacturers.
(855) 452 – 5529
Our Lipitor Lawsuit Information page is a great place to start if you have any questions about Lipitor.