Metformin use may prevent immune-mediated skin diseases in type 2 diabetes patients
Taiwan: Metformin use in patients with type 2 diabetes is associated with a remarkably lower risk of immune-mediated skin diseases, a recent study has shown; however, it was not shown to prevent androgen-mediated skin diseases. The study was published in the journal Dermatology on March 15 2023.
"Except for the need for a minor vigilance on the potential acne risk, the multiple pleiotropic effects of metformin, including a protection on skin cancer and immune-mediated skin diseases at the therapeutic doses required for hyperglycemic control provide supportive evidence for using metformin as the first-line antidiabetic drug," the study authors wrote.
Considering that the effects of metformin on non-cancer skin diseases are rarely investigated, Chin-Hsiao Tseng, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, aimed to investigate immune-mediated (allergic contact dermatitis, urticaria, and psoriasis) and androgen-mediated (hidradenitis suppurativa, acanthosis nigricans, and acne) skin diseases associated with metformin use.
For this purpose, the researchers obtained data from the National Health Insurance (NHI) database in Taiwan collected between 1999 and 2009. Patients treated with metformin in the initial 12-month period were assigned to the metformin group. Those who received antidiabetic medications other than metformin in the initial 12 months were assigned to the nonmetformin group.
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