A Long-Term Comparison of Metformin in Diabetics with Non-Diabetic Controls

We examined longevity in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients treated with metformin therapy and compared them to matched controls and T2D patients treated with sulphonylurea therapy. Looking at individuals over a period of up to twenty years we showed that T2D patients had shorter survival times after first treatment than matched controls. When the study period was artificially truncated, we found a statistically significant benefit of metformin therapy for longevity over matched non-diabetic controls within the first three years. However, this benefit disappeared when we looked over longer periods of time (after five years). This suggests that benefits of metformin may be short-term only and/or the longer-term benefits of metformin are negated by the life-shortening effects of T2D and associated comorbidities. An alternative explanation is that T2D patients experience better short-term survival outcomes following treatment due to lifestyle adjustment, as recommended by doctors. However, we did not see a benefit to longevity in the short-term for sulphonylurea therapy patients who would presumably be motivated to improve their lifestyle in the same way. Metformin has been linked to lower mortality due to cancer, and to reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Compared to the sulphonylurea therapy group, we did see significantly lower lifetime prevalence of cancer, and lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Excluding individuals with history of cancer and CVD prior ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs