Glitazones linked to 22% reduced dementia risk: Study
Written By : Isra Zaman
Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Published On 2022-10-15 03:30 GMT | Update On 2022-10-15 03:30 GMT
Use of an older class of type 2 diabetes drugs called glitazones, also known as thiazolidinediones or TZDs for short, is linked to a 22% reduced risk of dementia, reveals a long term study published in the open access journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care.
Because type 2 diabetes and dementia share some of the same physiological patterns, researchers have started to look at whether diabetes drugs might also help stave off or treat dementia. But to date, the findings have been inconsistent.
For the study the researchers compared dementia risk in older people with type 2 diabetes and treated with either a sulfonylurea or a thiazolidinedione (TZD) with those treated with metformin alone. They drew on the electronic health records of 559,106 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from the national Veteran Affairs (VA) Health System, spanning the period from January 2000 to December 2019.
Only older patients (aged at least 60) and given a first prescription of metformin, or a sulfonylurea (tolbutamide, glimepiride, glipizide, or glyburide), or a TZD (rosiglitazone or pioglitazone) between January 2001 and December 2017 were included (559,106) in the study. Their health was tracked for an average of nearly 8 years.
After at least 1 year of drug treatment, use of a TZD alone was associated with a 22% lower risk of dementia from any cause, compared with the use of metformin alone. Specifically, it was associated with an 11% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and a 57% lower risk of vascular dementia.
While the risk of dementia from any cause was 11% lower for the use of metformin and TZD combined, it was 12% higher for the use of a sulfonylurea drug alone, prompting the researchers to suggest that supplementing a sulfonylurea with either metformin or a TZD may partially offset these effects.
Further in-depth analysis indicated that those younger than 75 benefited more from a TZD than older patients, highlighting the importance of early prevention for dementia, note the researchers. And these drugs also seemed to be more protective in overweight or obese patients.
Reference:
Dr Jin J Zhou et al, Use of oral diabetes medications and the risk of incident dementia in US veterans aged ≥60 years with type 2 diabetes doi 10.1136/bmjdrc-2022-002894 Journal: BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care
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