UMMS study linking statin use to diabetes draws wide interest 
Lead researcher cautions: cholesterol-lowering drugs not a ‘magic pill’
The new study led by Yunsheng Ma, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, on the increased risk of diabetes for older women on statin drugs is making headlines across the country, with more than a dozen national media outlets reporting on this important research.
"The statin should not be seen as the magic pill," said Dr. Ma, an epidemiologist at UMMS and senior author on the study, in an interview with the Associated Press.
Ma and Annie Culver, consulting pharmacist and first author on the paper, said the study, published Jan. 9, in the Archives of Internal Medicine, showed a nearly 50 percent increased risk of diabetes in postmenopausal women on statin drugs, using data from the Women’s Health Initiative.
Click on the following links to see how the story was covered:
Associated Press
HEALTHBEAT: Emerging evidence that statins may be linked to a small increase in diabetes risk
LA Times
Statins raise risk of Type 2 diabetes in older women, study finds
Reuters
Statin use tied to more diabetes in women
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Statins linked to diabetes
Web MD
Statins May Raise Diabetes Risk in Older Women
US News and World Report
Statins May Boost Diabetes Risk in Older Women
NBC Nightly News
Statins linked with small diabetes risk
USA Today
Study links statins to higher diabetes in older women
My Health News Daily
Cholesterol-Lowering Statins May Increase Diabetes Risk in Older Women
Read the full paper:
Statin Use and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus in Postmenopausal Women in the Women's Health Initiative
Related link on UMassMedNow:
Statin use associated with increased diabetes risk in women