One of the most prominent pharmaceutical concerns in the last decade is the recent connection established between the development of type-2 diabetes in a specific population of patients who took Lipitor. This patient population includes postmenopausal women who took the medication to better manage their cholesterol.

The March 28, 2011 online edition of the Journal of American College of Cardiology published an article featuring one of these studies. This study combined data from three large medical clinics, and had observed the phenomena of type-2 diabetes development in patients who were taking Lipitor and similar drugs. The researchers concluded that postmenopausal women were indeed at higher risk, but the study also revealed that the women who seemed most at risk had suffered from previous conditions, such as being overweight, having high blood sugar, elevated triglycerides and high blood pressure.

According to Dr. David D. Waters of the University of California at San Francisco, the lead researcher in this study, these four characteristics could be considered very useful in identifying high- or low-risk patients who may develop type-2 diabetes from taking Lipitor. However, Waters states that the risk of developing type-2 diabetes from this drug is small, and that the importance of Lipitor and other statin drugs should be taken into account because many patients who did not develop type-2 diabetes rely greatly on this medication.

The data collected from the three clinics compared high-dose Lipitor patients with lower-dose patients and placebo pills for patients with cardiovascular disease. This study lasted for five years and included more than 20,000 subjects. In most of the subjects, the main risk factor seems to be the drugs’ effect on the body’s ability to control its blood sugar intake. However, the exact trigger for the condition is still unknown.

Causes of Type-2 Diabetes

There are two kinds of diabetes that have been health concerns for years. Type-2 diabetes develops when the patient’s body becomes resistant to insulin or when the pancreas stops producing a sufficient amount of insulin. Type 1 diabetes is when the body’s own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Both conditions are devastating, and may leave the patient years of medical management to deal with in its wake. Type-2 diabetes is the more common of the two, and is one of the most prominent health concerns of the 21st century.

Despite how increasingly common the condition is becoming, the exact cause of type-2 diabetes is unknown. According to studies, the pancreas does not give much of an indication before it starts failing to produce insulin or before the body builds up the resistance to insulin. It is currently theorized that if the amount of fat increases in the body, then it naturally becomes harder to produce sufficient amounts of insulin.

Diabetes Symptoms in Women

Due to the fact that Lipitor diabetes affects mostly women, there are certain symptoms that doctors recommend to watch out for. These diabetes symptoms include but are not limited to:

• Increased thirst and frequent urination
• Increased hunger
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Slow-healing sores or frequent infections
• Areas of darkened skin
• High blood sugar

Women who are experiencing any of these side effects after taking Lipitor are encouraged to go to their doctor immediately.