Diabetes Drug Lowers Risk of Heart Problems

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A common diabetes drug may help keep patients from dying from one of the complications of the disease.

A new report from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says metformin may lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease for people who suffer from diabetes.

Researchers reviewed data from 40 clinical trials published on or before January 19, 2006 -- all looked at the benefits or harms of oral diabetes drugs approved for use in the United States, including commonly prescribed combinations of therapies. The average age of participants ranged from 52 to 69. Almost 70 percent of the studies lasted less than one year.

“Treatment with metformin hydrochloride was associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular morality [death] compared with any other oral diabetes agent or placebo; the results for cardiovascular morbidity [illness] and all-cause mortality were similar but not statistically significant,” the authors wrote.

The review did not find any associations between other diabetes medications and beneficial or harmful cardiovascular effects, partly because of insufficient data.

The authors note poor quality and inconsistent reporting of cardiovascular data, as well as the lack of long-term studies, made it difficult to draw firm conclusions.

“There is a critical need for studies of oral diabetes medications with long-term outcomes,” they write. “The relatively modest differences in blood pressure, cholesterol levels and weight observed after treatment with oral diabetes medications in short-term trials may not translate to changes in long-term cardiovascular risk. Only long-term trials can provide definitive conclusions regarding the comparative efficacy of oral diabetes medications and long-term risks.”

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008;168:2070-2080