Pfizer Inc., maker of the cholesterol-controlling drug Lipitor, is currently facing a class action lawsuit over allegations that their drug can cause type-2 diabetes.

Lipitor is a type of drug called a statin. Statins are designed to help patients control their cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a class of biological chemicals that occur naturally in the body. The human body actually depends on cholesterol for certain processes. However, when the levels of cholesterol get imbalanced, particularly when LDL or “bad” cholesterol is too high, it can contribute to a narrowing and hardening of the arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis makes a patient more likely to suffer from other medical problems like stroke and heart attack.

The amount of cholesterol in a patient’s blood is controlled by two factors, their diet and their physiology. Diet and exercise can help, but it is only about half of the equation for some individuals. Lipitor and other statins can help regulate the amount of LDL cholesterol the body produces.

However, evidence has surfaced that statins like Lipitor may lead to new onset type-2 diabetes in post-menopausal women, according to the Women’s Health Study.

Women’s Health Study: The Diabetes Risk

The Women’s Health Study was conducted through researchers affiliated with the Rochester Methodist Hospital of the Mayo Clinic with federal funding. Researchers were able to collect data from 161,808 women initially, but only 153,840 fully completed the study. The study monitored the subjects closely from 1993 to 1998, with ongoing follow-up monitoring through 2005.

The researchers performed statistical analysis on their data. Statistical analysis is the process of using mathematical tests to evaluate data. This area of mathematics is used to judge how meaningful data is. For example, statistical analysis can compare different variables and rule out coincidences.

The analysis of the data revealed that postmenopausal women who used statins were 48 percent more likely than their peers to develop type-2 diabetes. The researchers also evaluated the risk for women at normal weight and found that they were 86% percent more likely to develop diabetes than their peers. These findings support earlier studies suggesting a link between statins and diabetes.

Lipitor Diabetes Litigation

Women who developed diabetes after using heart disease medication have joined a Lipitor class action lawsuit and filed hundreds of individual product liability lawsuits against the drug’s manufacturers, alleging that the drug caused their illnesses. Since diabetes is a lifelong disease, these suits seek the cost of continuing medical care.

The Lipitor lawsuits allege that drug manufacturers were aware of the risk of diabetes as early as 2006, but failed to act on this information. Eventually in 2011, the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to the drug’s manufacturers ordering them to including warnings about diabetes. The Lipitor lawsuits further allege that even when Pfizer added a warning, they only issued a “vague” warning that did not even mention diabetes by name.

The Lipitor Diabetes Mass Tort is In Re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2459, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.