Ashima Sharda Mahindra • 20 Sep 2024
Diabetes Drug Metformin Could Cut Risks for Long COVID-19, Says Study
Long COVID is a collection of symptoms that last three months after your first COVID-19 symptoms that steals your energy, ability to think clearly, and the sense of smell or taste
Metformin - a drug commonly used to treat diabetes, prevents the development of long COVID, a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, University of Minnesota has found. According to the research – called COVID-OUT, scientists investigated if early outpatient COVID-19 treatment with metformin, ivermectin, or fluvoxamine could prevent long COVID.
Long COVID is a collection of symptoms that last three months or longer after your first COVID-19 symptoms. Doctors say it affects 10 per cent of those who have coronavirus infections and steals your energy, ability to think clearly, and the sense of smell or taste. Those who get long COVID-19 may feel anxiousness or depression, get frequent headaches, and have recurrent breathlessness or heart palpitations.
According to statistics, millions of Americans suffer with the illness.
Metformin reduces long COVID-19 risks by 41 per cent
According to researchers, overweight or obese COVID-19 patients who took metformin soon after infection had a 41 per cent reduction in their odds for Long COVID. "Metformin has clinical benefits when used as outpatient treatment for COVID-19 and is globally available, low-cost and safe," wrote the authors of that study - led by Dr. Caroline Bramante, University of Minnesota.
The study sought to determine if the same benefits would occur among people taking metformin for their type 2 diabetes.
“Metformin is an inexpensive, safe, and widely available drug, and its use as a preventive measure could have significant public health implications,” Dr. Bramante added.
The study compiled data on almost 76,000 Americans who were taking metformin for their diabetes. Their rates of a diagnosis of Long COVID were compared to another group of more than 13,000 people with diabetes who were not using metformin. The scientists found that those who took metformin had at least 21 per cent lower odds of either developing Long COVID or dying within six months of contracting COVID-19.
Researchers said those participants who started metformin less than four days after their COVID-19 symptoms started, metformin was able to lower the risk of long COVID-19 by 63 per cent. The effect was also consistent across different demographic populations of volunteers who participated and across multiple viral variants, including the Omicron variant. However, ivermectin and fluvoxamine did not prevent long COVID.
How does metformin ward off COVID-19 side effects?
According to experts, even though scientists are not clear how metformin may prevent long-term COVID, they speculate the possibility of several mechanisms that reduce inflammation, decrease viral levels, and suppress the formation of disease-related proteins.
What causes long COVID?
Even though there is not one single reason that can be pinpointed as a cause of long COVID, experts believe that most air-borne viruses cause long-term effects even after you become completely cured. There are many factors that contribute to the causes of long COVID, including:
- Small blood clots may not lead to a stroke but can prevent your lungs, brain, and other organs from working properly
- It also causes inflammation in your organs and tissues long after it has fought off the infection
- Many people who suffer from autoimmune disorders
- SARS‑CoV‑2 - the virus that causes COVID-19, might hang around in your body long after you feel better from your initial illness
- If you had a severe case of COVID-19, especially if you were hospitalized, you might have anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions as a result.
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