Metabolic, enterohepatic and gut microbial effects of atorvastatin in healthy men.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial
PubMed 41738774 · doi:10.1530/EC-25-0721
What was done
In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial (NCT03018444), 15 healthy men received 14 days of atorvastatin (40 mg once daily during week 1, 80 mg once daily during week 2) or placebo. Following each treatment period, participants completed a mixed meal test to assess fasting and postprandial levels of glucose, gluco-regulatory hormones (insulin, glucagon, GIP, GLP-1), bile acid profiles, and gut microbiota composition.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, confidence intervals, or p-values. Directionally, atorvastatin treatment compared with placebo: - Did not alter postprandial glucose or insulin concentrations. - Increased basal and postprandial glucagon concentrations. - Increased postprandial GIP and GLP-1 concentrations. - Increased postprandial taurine-conjugated primary bile acids and decreased glycine-conjugated secondary bile acids. - Did not alter gut microbiota composition.
Why it matters
The findings identify hyperglucagonemia as a possible early mechanistic contributor to the increased risk of type 2 diabetes observed with statin therapy.
Limits
The study is limited by a very small sample size (n = 15) restricted strictly to healthy men, a brief 14-day duration using rapid dose escalation rather than standard long-term clinical regimens, and a lack of numerical effect sizes or variance reporting in the abstract.
Cited by
- contradicts A study showed that statin medications reduce endogenous GLP-1 production by 50%.