By now regular readers know that I'm high on statins. They can do a lot more than just lower your 'bad' (LDL or low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Their ability to delay mortality from cardiovascular disease has led some to call them the 'new aspirin'. Now there's a meta-analysis of 14 studies of the effects of statins in diabetic patients, published in the Lancet.

There were data from 18,500 diabetics (most of them type 2) that could be compared with 71,000 without diabetes in these controlled studies. Analyzing some 3,200 major cardiovascular events over a 4-year period, it was found that there was a 9% reduction in mortality in diabetics for every 38 mg/dl (1 mmol/L) reduction in LDL cholesterol, and a 13% reduction in non-diabetics.

Both diabetic and non-diabetic patients had a 21% reduction in vascular events (heart attack, severe angina, stroke, or heart failure) with each 38 mg/dL fall in LDL cholesterol. The beneficial effect of statins was seen in diabetics whether there was a prior history of vascular disease or not.

The authors of this meta-analysis say that: "statin therapy should be considered for all diabetic individuals who are at sufficiently high risk of vascular events" - in other words, not just those with abnormal lipid levels.