Health

Can blood-sugar drug metformin cut COVID-19 death risk?

Metformin, a generic medication for managing blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes, has been linked to significantly reduced COVID-19 death risks in women in an observational study

Representative Image (IANS)
Representative Image (IANS) 

Metformin, a generic medication for managing blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes, has been linked to significantly reduced COVID-19 death risks in women in an observational study.

It also reduces inflammation proteins like TNF-alpha that appear to make Covid-19 worse, said the research published in the journal The Lancet Healthy Longevity.

"Seeing a bigger association with protection in women over men may point towards inflammation reduction as a key way that metformin reduces risk from Covid-19," said principal investigator Carolyn Bramante, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School in the US.

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"However, more research is needed," Bramante said.

The study is based on analysis of de-identified patient data from healthcare company UnitedHealth Group.

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The team analysed about 6,000 individuals with Type-2 diabetes or obesity who were hospitalised with Covid-19 and assessed whether or not metformin use was associated with decreased mortality.

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They found an association that women with diabetes or obesity, who were hospitalised for Covid-19 disease and who had filled a 90-day metformin prescription before hospitalisation, had a 21 per cent to 24 per cent reduced likelihood of mortality compared to similar women not taking the medication.

There was no significant reduction in mortality among men.

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