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

New York, Dec 4 (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."However, more research is needed," Bramante said.The study is based on analysis of de-identified patient data from healthcare company UnitedHealth Group.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.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.
--IANS gb/in