British researchers have published the results of a study showing further evidence that a link exists between cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, such as Lipitor, and an increased risk of developing diabetes.

The enzyme HMGCR, which statins are designed to inhibit to control cholesterol, is also tied to a number of factors affecting blood sugar. After looking at more than 200,000 people in 43 genetic studies, researchers found that while statins inhibit production of the HMGCR enzyme, they also increase the risk of type-2 diabetes, according to the study published in The Lancet on Sept. 24.

“Statins increase the risk of new onset type 2 diabetes mellitus,” the researchers wrote. “The increased risk of type 2 diabetes noted with statins is at least partially explained by HMGCR inhibition.”

A study published in the 2012 Archives of Internal Medicine identified a nexus between women ages 50 to 79 who took a statin such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor, and an increased risk for developing type-2 diabetes. On the heels of the study results, the FDA required Pfizer to include the increased risk for diabetes on its warning label for Lipitor.

Millions of women have been prescribed Lipitor to help lower cholesterol and the risk for heart attack and stroke.

“A mounting wave of lawsuits,” nearly 1,000, according to Reuters, have been filed against Pfizer by women who allege that the company knew about potential serious side effects of Lipitor but never properly warned the public. The Lipitor lawsuits say Pfizer is legally responsible for the consumers’ medical bills, pain and suffering and lost wages of those who developed type-2 diabetes as a result of taking the drug. The first Lipitor diabetes lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial next summer.

The British study’s findings comes after Italian researchers published their findings in the medical journal Diabetes Care which found that the longer patients take Lipitor and similar statins, the greater the risk of developing diabetes. Weaker statins, such as Pravachol and Mevacor, have not been linked to an increased risk.

The FDA has told consumers that the risk of developing diabetes from potent statins like Lipitor is small, stressing that the drugs’ benefits outweigh the risks. But a Scripps Clinic cardiologist, Dr. Eric J. Topol, told The New York Times that more than 100,000 Americans could be at risk for statin-induced diabetes.

“The problem of statin-induced diabetes cannot be underplayed while the country is being overdosed,” Topol said.