Drug-Induced Diabetes: Are You at Risk?

Type 2 diabetes is a disease process principally influenced by diet and lifestyle choices. Decades of sedentary lifestyle choices and consumption of nutrient depleted food have left millions of individuals struggling with the effects of type 2 diabetes. Yet, there are several other factors, like medications, that increase the likelihood of diabetes.

With modern medicine and the use of certain medications, you now may face “drug-induced diabetes”. Drugs meant to treat another disorder have been found to lead to the new onset or worsening of elevated blood sugar, obesity, and diabetes, and interfere with normal metabolism. Are you or a loved one facing more health problems after starting a drug?

Drugs That Increase Diabetes Risk

When you think about a particular drug and adverse effects, you might worry about a skin rash, digestive upset, or mood changes, not that it can cause diabetes or interfere with metabolism. Yet, it is a real concern caused by several types of medications.

Drugs identified that can induce diabetes include:
• statin-cholesterol lowering medications,
• glucocorticoids,
• antiretroviral therapy,
• new-generation antipsychotics,
• immune checkpoint inhibitors,
• beta-blockers,
• thiazide diuretics,
• calcineurin inhibitors,
• beta2-adrenoreceptor agonists,
• somatostatin receptor agonists,
• mTOR inhibitors, and
• fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

Medications Change Metabolism

These medications impact your natural metabolism in several different ways and change how your body uses glucose. Depending on their mechanisms, they may impair insulin secretion, reduce tissue insulin sensitivity, or cause insulin resistance. They may promote weight gain and interfere with liver-blood sugar metabolism. Some of the medications cause inflammation in the pancreas or pancreatitis. They may even create cytotoxic effects or kill pancreatic beta cells. Are you aware of these risks?

Have You Been Educated about the Risks?

Medical researchers warn that clinicians should be aware of the risk of new-onset diabetes or worsening of diabetes and weight gain when prescribing some drugs to their patients. This is highly important for individuals already at risk with prediabetes, diabetes, fatty liver, or are overweight or obese.

A frightening concern about these medications is that drug-induced diabetes may or may not be reversible once you stop the drug. The side effects may be transient, or they may be permanent. It depends on the length of time the medication is used, the type of medication, and the overall health of the individual. Were you informed about these risks?

Check with your prescribing practitioner or pharmacist for more information. More information may be found in the review article When Therapeutic Drugs Lead to Diabetes published March 4, 2022 in the journal Diabetologia.

Statin Meds: Something to Think About

Statin medications are enormously popular and used by one in four adults over the age of 40. They have been touted as a safe and effective means of reducing cardiovascular risks with heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. Yet research shows that the side effects and adverse effects of these medications raise concerns.

A 2021 meta-analysis study on randomized controlled trials found that statin medications cause a 9-33% higher risk of statin-induced new-onset diabetes. The American Heart Association Scientific Statement in 2019 however stated that the risk of new onset drug-induced diabetes is less than 0.2% per year of treatment. Have you experienced changes in your blood sugar and weight since starting that statin medication and you have been diligent about good health choices?

Questions must be raised for children and adolescents too. For instance, statin drugs are prescribed to children as young as 6 years of age with significant high cholesterol risk factors. They are expected to be on the drugs for decades. What potential and lifelong consequences might they have with drug-induced diabetes?

A 21st Century Conundrum

We are now seeing many more health challenges than even 1-2 generations ago. Sedentary lifestyles and ultra-processed foods of the Western diet are ongoing factors that drive the obesity, diabetes, and poor health of Americans and other countries globally.

Significant amounts of endocrine disrupting compounds, “obesogens” and “forever chemicals” in the environment, food and water supply contribute to hormone changes and obesity which add to the concerns.

Now you must consider and manage the adverse effects of medications that increase the risk and likelihood of new onset or worsening diabetes and obesity. If you are on one or more medications above, you must be proactive to understand what the risks are. Take time to have an in-depth discussion with your prescribing practitioner to see if the medication can be changed or dosage reduced.

It is imperative for you to take a proactive approach with a healthy diet and lifestyle. Do you know if you are prediabetic or diabetic? Learn more in the article Diabetes and Covid-19.

Medical practitioners have very sparse training about healthy diet, nutrition, and lifestyle in their formal education. Wellness Resources and many other health-oriented businesses and holistic practitioners provide great educational resources and choices to help you! Support your metabolic health to reduce the risk or adverse effects.

What Do You Do?

1. Choose whole, unrefined foods 80-90% of the time. Follow the Five Rules of the Leptin Diet. If you implement restricted diets, understand and manage your risks. Learn more:

• Intermittent Fasting and Meal Timing for Weight Management

• Navigating a Plant-Based Diet: What You Need to Know for Optimal Health

• The Keto Diet: Know the Risks

2. Drink quality, filtered water. A new report by the US Geological Survey showed that nearly 50 percent of tap water is polluted with forever chemicals or PFAS, such as PFOS and PFOA. Urban water supplies and communities around manufacturing plants are more likely to have higher levels of PFAS. Forever chemicals may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and many other health concerns.

3. Exercise. The best exercise is the one that you will do consistently. Be active with the little things in life such as using the stairs rather than the elevator. Park at the far end of the parking lot rather than waiting for the perfect spot in front. Choose activities that require you to move rather than depending upon devices and gadgets. Do something every day.

4. Manage stress and sleep. Lack of sleep and ongoing stress interfere with healthy metabolism. It puts you more at risk for blood sugar, cholesterol, and other metabolic challenges.

5. Check out our invaluable resources:

• Health Topics

• Learn about leptin and blood sugar in the Leptin Diet Books

• Search our vast library with thousands of articles

• An A-Z list of Wellness Resources supplements

• The Supplement Advisor

• Ask us!

6. Check out these additional helpful resources for your perusal.

• Statin Drugs Linked with Parkinson’s Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes

• Taking Statin? Protect Your Muscles and Mitochondria

• Hidden Obesogens in Foods, Beverages, and Environment Disrupt Metabolism

• Endocrine Disruptor Compounds and Your Hormones

• Liver Health and Weight Management

• Health Clues and Tips for Your Heart and Weight

• Precocious Puberty – A Growing Dilemma for Today’s Children

• Diabetes and Pancreatic Insufficiency: An Often Neglected Connection

• One Night of Sleep Deprivation Ages Your Brain

• Supercharge Your Stress Management: Powerful Strategies for Hormonal Harmony

• Stress and Adrenals: Restoring the HPA Axis