Metformin Use Tied to Lower Incidence of Death, Long COVID After COVID-19

THURSDAY, Sept. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — After severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, prevalent metformin use is associated with a slightly lower incidence of death or postacute sequalae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), according to a study published online Sept. 17 in Diabetes Care.

Steven G. Johnson, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using N3C and PCORnet electronic health record databases to examine the incidence of PASC among metformin-exposed individuals versus individuals taking other diabetes medications. PASC was defined in two ways: PASC-U09.9, which was a U09.9 diagnosis code within 180 days of the index event, and by computable phenotype in each dataset (PASC-N3C and PASC-PCORnet).

The researchers found that the hazard ratio for death or PASC-U09.9 was 0.79 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.71 to 0.88), and the hazard ratio for death or PASC-N3C was 0.85 (95 percent CI, 0.78 to 0.92) in the N3C database. The hazard ratio for death or PASC-U09.9 was 0.87 (95 percent CI, 0.66 to 1.14), and the hazard ratio for death or PASC-PCORnet was 1.04 (95 percent CI, 0.97 to 1.11) in PCORnet. By diagnosis code, incident PASC was 1.6 versus 2.0 percent for metformin and comparator in the N3C, and 2.1 versus 2.5 percent in PCORnet. By computable phenotype, incidence was 4.8 and 5.2 percent for metformin and comparator in N3C, respectively, and was 24.7 versus 26.1 percent in PCORnet.

“These data support a mildly beneficial role of metformin on chronic SARS-CoV-2 outcomes in people with diabetes,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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