In the midst of mounting concerns that researchers may have overstated the benefits of statin drugs, like Lipitor, and downplayed their risks in previous research, a new study has linked the use of popular cholesterol drugs like Lipitor to a nearly 50 percent increased risk of type-2 diabetes.

In this new study, published in the medical journal Diabetologia on March 4, researchers looked at data involving nearly 9,000 patients between the ages of 45 and 73 who were followed up with for six years. Among the study participants diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, the researchers found that those prescribed either Lipitor or other statin drugs faced a dose-dependent increased risk of the disease, meaning the higher the dose, the more likely a type-2 diabetes diagnosis. Overall, the researchers noted that the risk of Lipitor type-2 diabetes rose by about 46 percent for the study participants taking the statin drug Lipitor, although they did not find an increased type-2 diabetes risk associated with other statin medications.

Lipitor Studies Link Cholesterol Drug To Type-2 Diabetes

This new Diabetologia study is the latest in a growing body of research suggesting a strong connection between statin medications and an increased risk of Lipitor type-2 diabetes side effects. In September 2014, a study published in the journal The Lancet found that the enzyme that statin drugs are designed to act upon to control cholesterol is also linked to a number of factors affecting blood sugar. Two months earlier, Italian researchers published a study in the medical journal Diabetes Care, indicating that the longer patients take Lipitor, the higher their risk of developing Lipitor side effects.

Lipitor Type-2 Diabetes Lawsuits

In February 2012, the FDA required the makers of Lipitor and other statin drugs to add new warnings to their labels highlighting the potential for the medications to impact blood sugar levels in patients and cause type-2 diabetes. However, critics say that the warnings are still not strong enough, indicating that patients and medical professionals should be provided with more accurate information about the potential risk of type-2 diabetes from statin drugs like Lipitor.

Typically, drug lawsuits allege that a drug is unreasonably dangerous and/or that the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings for side effects associated with the drug. Patients who developed type-2 diabetes due to Lipitor use now have to undergo regular testing of their blood glucose levels, adhere to a strict diets, take medication for the remainder of their lives and are at an increased risk for kidney disease, blindness, heart disease and other complications of type-2 diabetes. Lipitor diabetes lawsuits seek to hold Pfizer, the manufacturer of Lipitor, accountable for reimbursing patients for physical and emotional suffering, and the cost of past and future medical care.