Question

Niacin therapy is contraindicated in diabetes because

• A. Increases the blood sugar levels
• B. Causes scleroderma
• C. Difficult to give injection
• D. Increases the metabolism of oral hypoglycemic drugs

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Frame the issue as a drug-disease interaction. The concern with niacin in a diabetic patient is metabolic, specifically its effect on glycaemic control.
Step 2: Niacin promotes insulin resistance in peripheral tissues. The net consequence is a measurable increase in plasma glucose, so a previously controlled diabetic may show worsening sugars after starting niacin.
Step 3: Because the hyperglycaemic tendency can destabilise diabetes management, prescribers either avoid niacin or monitor sugars closely; this hyperglycaemia is the cited reason for caution.
Step 4: Discard the false options. There is no link to scleroderma, the oral formulation removes any injection difficulty, and the mechanism is direct glucose elevation rather than altered metabolism of antidiabetic drugs.
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