Statins are widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering agents, which have been 
demonstrated to significantly reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. 
However, recent trials have reported that statins cause worsening of 
hyperglycemia and increase the risk of new-onset diabetes. The association 
between the diabetogenic effect of statins with intensive dose and accompanying 
major risk factors for diabetes has been demonstrated. However, statins do not 
appear to have a class effect on insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic patients. 
Numerous mechanisms have been suggested to explain how statins cause β-cell 
insulin secretory dysfunction and peripheral insulin resistance leading to 
incident diabetes. According to findings from an aggregate of large clinical 
trials, the benefits of statin treatment appear to outweigh the risk of 
new-onset diabetes. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to discontinue the use 
of statins for prevention of cardiovascular events because of its potential risk 
for development of incident diabetes. This review addresses the currently 
available evidence related to statin use and new-onset diabetes from a clinical 
perspective.