However, via its ability to reduce early mortality associated with various diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and cancer, metformin can improve healthspan thereby extending the period of life spent in good health.
Preliminary studies suggest that metformin may actually slow aging and increase life expectancy by improving the body's responsiveness to insulin, antioxidant effects, and improving blood vessel health.
With reference to observed survival in diabetic patients initiated with metformin monotherapy [survival time ratio (STR) = 1.0], adjusted median survival time was 15% lower (STR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.81–0.90) in matched individuals without diabetes and 38% lower (0.62, 0.58–0.66) in diabetic patients treated with ...
1. How long does it take metformin to work? Metformin is a long-term medication. While not everyone with diabetes needs to take medication forever, many people will continue taking metformin for life.
In addition to lowering blood glucose levels, metformin may slow down aging in the body. Metformin does this by lowering the risk of some diseases and bodily processes that speed up aging and damage the body. However, metformin is only approved for T2D. Studies on its other potential benefits are ongoing.
Metformin is a commonly used drug for treating patients with Type 2 diabetes. Extensive research has shown that metformin can also be used as an anti-aging therapy. For this reason, many people without diabetes, including Silicon Valley techies, take the inexpensive drug in the hopes it will keep them healthy longer.
Long-term side effects
Taking metformin can cause vitamin B12 deficiency if you take it for a long time. This can make you feel very tired, breathless and faint, so your doctor may check the vitamin B12 level in your blood. If your vitamin B12 levels become too low, vitamin B12 supplements will help.
Recently, Samira et. reported no increase in the risk of acute kidney injury in patients receiving metformin compared to those without metformin treatment by baseline eGFR [11]. However, in the present study, continuous metformin therapy was shown to worsen renal function in patients with DM and moderate CKD.
You may need to make changes in your medication and diet and exercise habits as your condition progresses. Even if your diabetes has been well controlled for years, the condition can still worsen over time, meaning, you may have to adjust your treatment plan more than once.
At age 50, life expectancy- the number of years a person is expected to live- is 6 years shorter for people with type 2 diabetes than for people without it. People with type 2 diabetes can reduce their risk of complications and live longer by achieving their treatment goals.
The younger a person who receives a type 2 diabetes diagnosis is, the higher the risk that diabetes-linked complications will shorten their lifespan. However, by adopting effective management strategies, there is a good chance that a person living with type 2 diabetes may live as long as a person without the condition.
Outside of their work, other scientists are hailing metformin as a wonder drug not only because of its effect on Type 2 diabetes, but because of its emerging prominence in cancer research and potential influence in the lungs of those diagnosed with tuberculosis.
The UK study by Imfeld et al. showed an increased risk of dementia associated with metformin use (odds ratio 1.71, 95% confidence interval 1.12-2.60) by using a matched case-control design including 7086 incident cases of Alzheimer's disease and 7086 controls without dementia [10].
Life expectancy estimates for individuals with type 1 diabetes in these reports ranged from approximately 65 years of age to 72 years of age. The CDC currently estimates the average US life expectancy is 76.1 years, the lowest figure since 1996.
Living till 100 years of age with diabetes is not just possible, it's simple, says diabetologist Dr V Mohan. “All it takes is a little self-control.”
Type 1 diabetes is considered worse than type 2 because it is an autoimmune disease, so there isn't a cure. Also, in a 2010 report⁴ from the UK, it's estimated that the life expectancy of people with type 2 diabetes can be reduced by up to 10 years, while type 1 can reduce life expectancy by 20 years or more.
The human pharmacokinetic data point to the liver, kidney and intestines as the key target organs of metformin and in this review we will primarily focus on the liver and intestines, particularly when referring to the beneficial impact of metformin on metabolism and inflammation.
Recent studies have also found that metformin has a positive effect on cardiovascular protection [8,9,10,11,12]. Metformin also lowers risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as blood fats [13,14,15], body weight and blood pressure.
Remission is when your HbA1c — a measure of long-term blood glucose levels — remains below 48mmol/mol or 6.5% for at least three months, without diabetes medication.
Under certain conditions, too much metformin can cause lactic acidosis. The symptoms of lactic acidosis are severe and quick to appear, and usually occur when other health problems not related to the medicine are present and are very severe, such as a heart attack or kidney failure.
Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are some of the most common side effects people have when they first start taking metformin. These problems usually go away over time. You can reduce these effects by taking metformin with a meal.
How to check if metformin is working. A medical provider can run a few tests to see how metformin is affecting your health: Blood work can check if your glucose, insulin, and HbA1C levels are in range. If they are, the medication is working.
However, elderly patients are more likely to have age-related kidney problems, which may require caution in patients receiving metformin. This medicine is not recommended in patients 80 years of age and older who have kidney problems.