Statins are the most common and cost-effective drugs for treating and preventing cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. But in recent years, the ubiquity and frontline status of these medications has led to increasing scrutiny. Every so often, concerns over potential adverse effects pop up in research literature and popular press and fuel a growing skepticism about whether statins are really leading to net improvements in health and longevity—despite ample evidence of their positive effect on all-cause mortality.
While most of the alleged concerns are just distractions with little evidentiary basis, some may reflect more legitimate drawbacks to these medications. So after the recent publication of a study indicating that statins can have a detrimental effect on GLP-1 secretion and insulin sensitivity, an important question quickly followed: should individuals on statins be concerned about these apparent effects on metabolic health?
