The effect of atorvastatin on pancreatic beta cell requirement in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: There is an increased risk of developing T2DM in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and there is evidence that statins improve metabolic parameters in these patients. However, there are some data to show that statins increase the risk of incipient diabetes. Materials and methods: We have previously shown that 12 weeks of atorvastatin improves insulin resistance when measured using HOMA-IR. This post hoc analysis was designed to look at the effect of atorvastatin on pancreatic β cell function using HOMA-β in the same study. In this randomised, double-blind placebo controlled study, 40 medication-naïve patients with PCOS were randomised to either atorvastatin 20 mg daily or placebo for 3 months. A 3-month extension study for both groups of patients was undertaken with metformin 1500 mg daily after completing initial 3 months of atorvastatin or placebo. Results: There was a significant reduction in HOMA-β (240 ± 3.2 vs 177 ± 2.3; P value