2 5) Moreover, a significantly increased risk of DM associated with statin use was observed among women with BMI lower than 25.0 when compared with women with BMI of 30.0 or higher after adjusting for all potential confounders. 6) Statin users had higher fasting glucose levels compared with non – statin users. [This is not surprising. Biochemistry texts show that cholesterol is made from glucose, and statin drugs block the conversion of glucose to cholesterol, thus raising glucose levels]. 7) The results of this study imply that statin use conveys an increased risk of new-onset DM in postmenopausal women. 8) Statin-induced DM is a medication class effect and not related to potency or to individual statin. 9) The consequences of statin-induced DM have not been specifically defined and deserve more attention. Given the wide use of statins in the aging population, further studies among women, men, and diverse ethnicities will clarify DM risk and risk management to optimize therapy. EDITORS NOTE Kirsten L. Johansen, MD Increased Diabetes Mellitus Risk With Statin Use Tipping the Balance In this issue of the Archives, Culver et al report an association between use of statins and increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus in a large cohort of women. These data confirm and extend associations previously demonstrated among participants in randomized trials. The increased risk of diabetes mellitus with statin use was similar among women with and without a history of cardiovascular disease, a finding that may have important implications for the balance of risk and benefit of statins in the setting of primary prevention in which previous meta-analyses show no benefit on all-cause mortality. [This means that meta-analyses show that in those who do not have cardiovascular disease {already have heart signs/symptoms or a prior heart attack} but do have high cholesterol, statin drugs do not help prevent heart attacks, but statin drugs do increase their risk of becoming diabetic].