Aim: We previously reported that glycemic control deteriorated in patients receiving atorvastatin, which is useful for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Pitavastatin has a strong lipid-lowering effect, comparable to that of atorvastatin, but it is unknown whether pitavastatin has an adverse influence on glycemic control. The aim of this study was to examine. The effects of three different statins (pravastatin, atorvastatin, and pitavastatin) on blood glucose and HbA_1C levels in diabetic patients.
Methods: We retrospectively compared glycemic control between groups receiving atorvastatin (10 mg/day, group A, n=99), pravastatin (10 mg/day, group Pr, n=85), and pitavastatin (2 mg/day, group Pi, n=95) from the start of treatment until 3 months later. Patients were excluded if the dosage of their antidiabetic drugs was changed, if their drug therapy was altered within 3 months before starting statin therapy, or if events occurred that could affect glycemic control such as hospitalization.
Results: The subjects available for analysis were 74 patients from group A, 71 patients from group Pr, and 74 patients from group Pi. Arbitrary blood glucose levels increased from 147±51 mg/dL (mean±SD) to 176±69 mg/dL in group A, but only changed minimally from 136±31 to 134±32 mg/dL in group Pr and from 155±53 to 154±51 mg/dL in group Pi. HbA_1C increased from 7.0±1.1% to 7.4±1.2% in group A, while it was 6.9±0.9% versus 6.9±1.0% in group Pr, and 7.3±1.0% versus 7.2±1.0% in group Pi. There was no correlation between Δ LDL-C and Δ HbA_1C (the change from baseline to 3 months) in any of the groups.
Conclusion: The glycemic parameters only increased significantly in group A, suggesting that pitava-statin and pravastatin did not have an adverse influence on glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients.