Study Results Diabetes drugs do not increase the lifespan, experts say

The impact of diabetes medications on mortality is low
A recent study examined the effects of eight different classes of diabetes medications on the heart, circulation and overall mortality. The researchers found that there were no significant differences in mortality when patients took these drugs instead of a placebo.

Do Diabetes Drugs Improve Life Expectancy in Type 2 Diabetes Patients? Researchers at the University of Otago have now found in an investigation that there are no significant differences in mortality rates when patients take one of eight different classes of anti-diabetes drugs. The physicians published the results of their study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

How does the use of diabetes medications affect the life expectancy of those affected? Researchers now found that most common treatments do not yield great mortality benefits. (Image: designer491 / fotolia.com)

Researchers analyze the data from 300 different studies
The researchers looked at the results of 300 studies on type 2 diabetes sufferers to see if it makes any difference to life expectancy when patients take various diabetes medications. For comparison, some subjects were given placebo. The experts could not find any significant differences.

Examinations included about 120,000 subjectsn
Of all the classes studied, sodium-glucose-co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) medications were associated with the lowest rate of hypoglycaemia when combined with metformin, said lead author Dr. Suetonia Palmer from the University of Otago in New Zealand. A key finding of this meta-analysis was that, despite more than 300 clinical trials involving nearly 120,000 subjects, there was limited evidence of prolonging life expectancy by sugar-lowering drugs.

Four classes of drugs were associated with higher HbA1c levels compared to metformin
-sulfonylureas
-thiazolidinedione
-Dipeptidyl peptidase-4
-α-glucosidase inhibitor
In addition, all drugs with sulfonylurea and basal insulin were associated with the highest risk of hypoglycaemia.

Most of the examinations were done as monotherapy
The majority of all tests (177) of medicines were done as monotherapy, say the scientists. In 109 of the studies, the drugs were given in addition to metformin. In 29 studies, the drugs were taken in combination with metformin and sulfonylurea, the authors add.

Patients with type 2 diabetes should initially receive monotherapy with metformin
There were no indications of any differences in the association between the different drug classes and adverse events such as myocardial infarction or stroke, Dr. Palmer. The results of the study showed that for initial treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes, it is recommended to use monotherapy with metformin, the authors write. Based on the latest research, physicians and patients should avoid using sulfonylureas and so-called basal insulin to treat patients at risk for hypoglycaemia.

Further research in this area is urgently needed
There were also two recent studies linking two diabetes medications with lower mortality rates. But none of these treatments were studied as monotherapy, the authors explain. Relatively few studies report cardiovascular mortality. Most of these studies show no relevant or very unclear results. Most of the studies conducted were relatively short-term and were conducted in higher-income countries. (As)