High Cholesterol Jeopardizes Diabetics

New guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP) suggest thatadults with type 2 diabetes who have just 1 risk factor for heart disease shouldbe taking medication to lower their cholesterol levels. The ACP based its recommendationson the results of 12 lipid-lowering studies that had data on outcomesfor diabetic patients. Information from the studies demonstrated that theuse of cholesterol-lowering drugs, along with an additional lipid-lowering agent,gemfibrozil, will lead to a >20% reduction in major heart-related occurrences inindividuals with diabetes.

Based on the results, the ACP recommends lipid-lowering therapy for all diabeticpatients with known coronary disease. Also, treatment is advised forpatients with any major risk factor for disease, such as age over 55 years andhigh blood pressure. (The findings were reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine,April 2004.)