Statins are considered a 21st century panacea to the extent that some people propose they should be taken by everyone over 55 years of age.1 Convincing evidence shows that statins reduce all cause mortality and prevent or postpone cardiovascular disease,2 and that in general they are well tolerated, with 11 cases of myopathy (the most serious side effect) occurring per 100 000 person years of treatment.3

However, accumulating evidence suggests that statins worsen glucose tolerance and possibly cause type 2 diabetes. This suggests a parallel with thiazides and β blockers, which are also known to increase plasma glucose, thus creating concerns over the risks of treatment versus benefit.4 An analysis of West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS) data concluded in 2001 that randomisation to pravastatin significantly reduced the risk of developing diabetes (hazard ratio after adjusting for age, body mass index, white blood cell count, blood pressure, lipids, alcohol intake, smoking, and glucose at baseline 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.50 to 0.99).5 This conclusion was based on 1.9% of 2999 men in the pravastatin group and 2.8% of 2975 men in the comparison …