A woman’s odds of developing cardiovascular disease increase by age 50. To help reduce the risk, often brought on by high cholesterol, doctors have taken to prescribing Lipitor, or other drugs known as statins. These statins are meant to keep cholesterol in check, and they do work – but more with men than women. A number of cardiologists have growing concerns about the use of Lipitor and other statins, given the many risks and potentially few benefits they provide for women.

Statins are among the best-selling drugs in the United States. They use the liver to block the body’s creation of cholesterol, which is a key contributor to coronary artery disease. But a recent report in The New York Times said doctors noticed that women actually get less benefit from statins than men. Women, however, do face the same side effects and health problem risks from statin use. These issues include an increased risk of diabetes and muscle damage.

The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association just released new clinical practice guidelines on “assessing and preventing cardiovascular risk in adults.” These new guidelines warn doctors to only prescribe statins, like Lipitor, in cases in which cholesterol truly needs to be managed, and not as a preventative measure in healthy individuals. Previously, the two organizations recommended that certain patients be given statins to lower their LDL (bad) cholesterol. Under the new guidelines, doctors would “place them on the statins and leave them on the statins, no longer setting target numbers for LDL cholesterol.”

Problems with the Data

Dr. Rita Redberg, editor of JAMA Internal Medicine, stated in the New York Times article that there’s not enough clinical data on the benefits of statins like Lipitor for women. Despite women outnumbering men, most statin studies have had majority male populations. Moreover, there is no proof that the benefits outweigh the risks of statin side effects – at least, not in women.

The Jupiter Trial is one study that showed Lipitor didn’t reduce the number of heart attacks, deaths or strokes in women. The study looked at 6,801 women over 60 years of age. Findings showed statin use proved of significant assistance to men, lowering their chances of having a heart attack or stroke, but women did not reap the same benefits. Many women only have the risks and complications to show for their use, like diabetes.

Since so many of the women prescribed Lipitor as a preventive measure were otherwise healthy, neither they nor their doctors knew they should be monitoring blood sugar levels. According to the women involved in Lipitor class action lawsuits, the drug makers provided insufficient warnings about the type-2 diabetes risks.

Diabetes Connection

The European Journal of Preventative Cardiology published a study in March that found evidence of a connection between type-2 diabetes and statins like Lipitor. Researchers noted “that one out of every five people who developed diabetes while taking statins did so because of the statin side effects.”

There are some experts who say that just because data is lacking, that doesn’t mean Lipitor is ineffective. But cardiologists including Redberg say that “questions should always be asked before putting someone permanently on a drug for which the benefits have not been conclusively proven.”