Across America, patients with high cholesterol are wondering if they should be prescribed Lipitor or other statin drugs, with the prevalent risk of type-2 diabetes. Recently, it has been alleged that Lipitor and other statin drugs may cause the development of type-2 diabetes due to how these drugs interfere with the biological process.

Many of these patients, especially women, have been relying on these drugs for years to help them manage their cholesterol levels and encourage a healthier lifestyle. Statins work by interfering with the body’s natural absorption of bad cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein, which is one of the most common causes of heart disease and cardiac attacks. These drugs also encourage the body to absorb high-density lipoprotein, which is where blood cells gather their energy. However, experts state that Lipitor and other statins could be inducing type-2 diabetes because these drugs interfere with the natural functions of the pancreas, which releases insulin.

Lipitor and Diabetes

Lipitor is one of the best-selling drugs in America and one Pfizer’s most profitable products. Before the release of its generic variations, Lipitor would generate billions on an annual basis, and even earned hundreds of millions each year. However, as popular as Lipitor and other statins are, an increasing amount of patients are wondering if they are simply trading their high cholesterol for type-2 diabetes.

Many doctors do not know how to respond to the correlation between the drug and these side effects; some doctors even prescribe Lipitor to patients with diabetes to further decrease their chances of heart disease. Other doctors believe that the risk is overblown, and do not take the potential correlation too seriously. For the most parts, doctors prescribe Lipitor to patients but advise patients that Lipitor could cause changes in blood-sugar levels, which could lead to type-2 diabetes.

FDA Acknowledges Lipitor Diabetes Risk

In 2012, the FDA updated all statin labels to include a black-box warning, describing how the drugs could raise blood glucose levels in patients and most likely result in type-2 diabetes for certain patients. The agency estimated an increased risk between 9% to 27% depending on the patients, with the highest likelihood of postmenopausal women who were treated with statins for over a year.

Interestingly enough, the warning compared the chances of developing type-2 diabetes between high-intensity statins like Lipitor to moderate-intensity statins like Lescol. While moderate-intensity statins lower cholesterol at a lower rate, experts do find that the chances of type-2 diabetes are significantly lower.

In fact, the agency and experts recommend that moderate-intensity statins be prescribed to treat lower-risk patients, in compromise to the issue of diabetes. However, this does not change the fact that Lipitor remains the top-choice in cholesterol treatment and may continue to be for years to come. According to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, approximately 4% of Lipitor injury reports were related to diabetes, out of 50,000 consumer injury reports.

Lipitor Lawsuits

Despite the severity of these risks, Pfizer allegedly chose to conceal this information from consumers in order to protect Lipitor’s market value. Even with the black-box warning, many patients and medical experts complain that this update is not sufficient enough because it does not specifically mention type-2 diabetes.

There have been numerous Lipitor diabetes lawsuits filed throughout the country by patients who allege that their diabetic conditions were completely avoidable and preventable; many of these patients claim that they never would have taken Lipitor if they had known the risks.