Metformin use lowers risk of neurodegenerative diseases in diabetes patients

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-03-15T09:30:38+05:30 | Updated On 15 March 2022 9:29 AM IST

China: Findings from a recent meta-analysis showed that metformin use, especially long-term use is tied to a lower risk of neurodegenerative disease (ND) in diabetes patients. However, the researchers add, "owing to a substantial heterogeneity among studies, there is a need for high-quality randomized controlled trials to confirm the finding."

There has always been a controversy on the association between metformin use and neurodegenerative disease onset. To clarify the same, Zubing Mei, Anorectal Disease Institute of Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai, China, and colleagues aimed to determine the relationship between metformin use and ND risk based on data from population-based cohort studies in a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

For this purpose, the researchers systematically searched articles in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. Using a random-effects model, pooled relative risks (RRs) were obtained. In order to identify the sources of heterogeneity and strengthen the results, subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses, and meta-regression were performed.

Twelve population-based cohort studies consisting of 194,792 participants (94,462 metformin users and 100,330 metformin non-users) were eligible to be included in the meta-analysis.

Based on the study, the researchers found the following:

The pooled RR of NDs reached 0.77 when comparing metformin users with non-users.
The effects were more prominent in long-term metformin users (≥4 years) (RR 0.29) and studies from Asian countries (RR 0.69).
The effect estimates were stable when stratified by subtypes of NDs, study designs, and control definitions.
Meta-regression did not identify the coefficients as the sources of heterogeneity.

To conclude, this systematic review and meta-analysis found that the use of metformin, particularly long-term use is associated with a lower risk of ND. However, because of substantial heterogeneity among studies, there is still a need for high-quality randomized controlled trials to confirm this finding.

Reference:

The study titled, "Metformin and the risk of neurodegenerative diseases in patients with diabetes: A meta-analysis of population-based cohort studies," was published in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.14821

KEYWORDS: metformin, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, Zubing Mei, diabetes medications, type 2 diabetes

Diabetic Medicinemetforminneurodegenerative diseasesdiabetes

Source : Diabetic Medicine

Medha Baranwal

MSc. Biotechnology

Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751