Do Statins Raise Your Blood Sugar?
Health ConditionsDiabetes

Statins Raise Blood Sugar. Is That a Problem?

Statins Raise Blood Sugar. Is That a Problem?
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Published on December 9, 2025
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Statins are effective, safe drugs that help many people manage their cholesterol. But they also can increase your blood sugar and pose a risk of hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, if you have diabetes or prediabetes.

Although it seems reasonable for people who have diabetes or are at risk of developing diabetes to be concerned with a treatment that raises blood sugar levels, experts say that the benefits of statins outweigh the risk.

“If you're on the path to diabetes, for some patients it may accelerate that diagnosis,” says Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, a past president of the American Heart Association and the chief of preventive medicine at Boston University. “But the statin is going to be protecting them against something that's far worse.”

About 10 percent of U.S. adults ages 20 or older have high cholesterol, which is defined as total cholesterol of 240 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or more.

 High cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States.

How Statins Affect Blood Sugar

Statins are a type of medication designed to lower your LDL or “bad” cholesterol, helping to prevent heart attack and stroke. They do so by blocking an enzyme that the liver requires to produce cholesterol, so the liver instead removes cholesterol from the blood. This can come with other side effects, however.

“Statins can impair the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar by impacting insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism,” says David G. Rizik, MD, the health system chief at Banner Health University Medicine Cardiology Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This effect is not dramatic. In clinical trials, people without diabetes who used low- or moderate-intensity statins experienced an A1C increase of 0.06 percentage points; high-intensity statin therapy caused an increase of 0.08 percentage points.

“When a person starts statin medication, their fasting blood sugar, on average, may go up just a couple points,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones says. “It's a pretty modest average effect on blood sugar levels.”

Taken at higher doses, potent statins such as atorvastatin (Lipitor) and rosuvastatin (Crestor) at higher doses are more likely to affect blood sugar than other statins, such as pitavastatin (Livalo, Zypitamag), Lloyd-Jones says.

This response is not universal. Research suggests that elevated blood sugar levels occur in 9 percent of people who take statins.

Do Statin Benefits Outweigh Blood Sugar Risks?

Experts agree that the benefits of statins often outweigh their risks.

What Are the Benefits of Statins?

Statins, which can lower cholesterol by 30 to 50 percent, significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and early death.

 But nearly half of all people who could benefit from taking medication for cholesterol issues are not doing so.

 Researchers estimate that closing these treatment gaps could prevent nearly 100,000 heart attacks and as many as 65,000 strokes in the United States annually.

“What I say to my patients is, ‘I'm not going to prevent your diabetes by withholding a statin that you need because I'm trying to prevent heart attacks and strokes,’” Lloyd-Jones says.

The benefits are similar for people with diabetes. Adults with type 2 diabetes who use a statin may reduce their risk of death by 27 percent while taking it and are 37 percent less likely to experience a major cardiovascular event than those who don’t, according to landmark research.

If a rise in blood sugar concerns you or your doctor, there are numerous lifestyle changes that can offset the potential for high blood sugar while taking statins. These include eating at regular times and limiting alcohol.

“A healthy diet, regular exercise, and glucose lowering medications can help maintain stable blood sugar levels even while taking statins,” Dr. Rizik says. “These changes can counteract the potential rise in blood sugar associated with statin therapy.”

Do Statins Cause Diabetes?

“If you’re starting with normal blood sugar, you will not get diabetes by starting a statin — we don’t see that, ever,” Lloyd-Jones says. “The people who may get diagnosed with diabetes after starting a statin are very close to the threshold for diagnosis anyway.”

But when statins raise blood sugar levels that are already high, they will invariably help push some people with prediabetes into type 2 diabetes. One comprehensive study on statins and diabetes shows that statins may speed up the onset of diabetes by 5.4 weeks among people who develop diabetes.

Your risk of statin-induced diabetes also depends on a few other factors, including:

  • Traditional diabetes risk factors such as obesity, genetic history, and a sedentary lifestyle
  • Use of glucocorticoid steroids, which also increase insulin resistance
  • Use of statins that are less likely to trigger insulin resistance, such as pitavastatin

Who Should Use Statins?

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends statins for adults ages 40 to 75 who have one or more cardiovascular risk factors and a 10 percent or higher estimated risk of developing heart disease within 10 years. It recommends that doctors selectively offer statins to the same adults who have a 7.5 to 10 percent estimated risk.

Most adults with diabetes are advised to use a statin, despite the risk of blood sugar increases.

 The American Diabetes Association provides a blanket recommendation that all people with diabetes between ages of 40 and 75 should be using moderate-intensity statin therapy. Those over 75 and those between 20 and 39 who have additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease may also benefit from taking a statin.

Research is still emerging on statins’ benefits and risks for people ages 76 years or older.

 One study shows statin use may decrease the risk of developing heart disease by as much as 5 percent for this age group — and up to 12.5 percent for people ages 85 and older.

Cardiovascular risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking, and they increase your chances of developing heart disease.

If you’re concerned that statins are affecting your blood sugar management, talk to your doctor about switching to a different statin, moderating your dosage, or making other changes to help keep your glucose numbers in range.

The Takeaway

  • Statins are medications that help lower cholesterol and prevent heart attacks, but they may increase blood sugar, particularly if you have prediabetes or diabetes.
  • Experts say that the benefits of statins, including reducing LDL cholesterol and heart disease risks, outweigh their risks if you need to take the medications.
  • Potent statins in high doses are more associated with raising glucose levels than less-potent statins, so it’s wise to talk to your doctor about what medications are right for you if you have concerns.
  • Maintain a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and make other lifestyle changes to offset the modest rise in blood sugar associated with statin use.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
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Chung Yoon, MD

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Chung Yoon, MD, is a noninvasive cardiologist with a passion for diagnosis, prevention, intervention, and treatment of a wide range of heart and cardiovascular disorders. He enjoys clinical decision-making and providing patient care in both hospital and outpatient settings. He excels at analytical and decision-making skills and building connection and trust with patients and their families.
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