Should I Be On Statins?

Hi.

Should I be on statins? A couple of years ago I mentioned this to a diabetes nurse at the hospital and she said "no". However, my GP said an emphatic "yes", and his diabetes nurse said "no" when I saw them recently. My cholesterol is 4.1 without statins.

I'm confused. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Simon.

Hi Simon. The general guidance is that everyone with diabetes (either Type 1 or Type 2) should start on statins above the age of 40 based on a trial published some years ago which showed the risks of heart attacks and strokes halving over 5 years in people whose cholesterol was above 3.5 in this age group. What we don't know is whether high risk people below this age should start statins earlier but trials are underway. Certainly if people had other problems that might be considered in the over 30s. Simon