Metformin is best first line of defense against type 2 diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes who take metformin as their first line of defense are less likely to need other medications for blood sugar later on, report researchers from Harvard Medical School.

More than 15,000 people were included in the study, all of whom started treatment for type 2 diabetes between July 2009 and June 2013.

About 60 percent of the patients were treated initially with metformin, while one-quarter started treatment with a sulfonylurea, like Glucotrol. Six percent started treatment with a thiazolidinedione and 13 percent took a DPP-4 inhibitor.

Results

Of the patients taking metformin, only about one-quarter needed another medication to help with blood sugar control. Individuals on the other diabetes drugs, however, were more likely to need a second drug to manage insulin levels.

"Metformin, which is one of the oldest drugs we have and which the guidelines recommend as being the first drug to use, is associated with a lower risk of needing to add a second drug or insulin compared to any of three other commonly used classes of drugs," said lead researcher Dr. Niteesh Choudhry, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Meformin works by making the body's cells more sensitive to insulin, and it also decreases the amount of sugar produced in the liver, reports the American Diabetes Association.

"These findings emphasize the use of metformin as the first-line drug for type 2 diabetes," Choudhry said.

Source: HealthDay