Dementia risk in patients with type 2 diabetes: Comparing metformin with no pharmacological treatment

INTRODUCTIONMetformin has been suggested as a therapeutic agent for dementia, but the relevant evidence has been partial and inconsistent. METHODSWe established a national cohort of 210,237 type 2 diabetes patients in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Risks of incident dementia were compared between metformin initiators and those who were not prescribed any anti-diabetes medication during follow-up. RESULTSCompared with metformin initiators (n = 114,628), patients who received no anti-diabetes medication (n = 95,609) had lower HbA1c and better cardiovascular health at baseline. Both Cox regression and propensity score weighting analysis showed metformin initiators had lower risk of dementia compared to those non-users (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.88 [95% confidence interval: 0.84-0.92] and 0.90 [0.84-0.96]). Patients on long-term metformin treatment had an even lower risk of dementia. DISCUSSIONMetformin may act beyond its glycemic effect and reduce dementia risk to an even lower level than that of patients with milder diabetes and better health profiles. HighlightsMetformin initiators had a significantly lower risk of dementia compared with patients not receiving anti-diabetes medication.Compared with metformin initiators, diabetes patients not receiving pharmacological treatment had better glycemic profiles at baseline and during follow-up.Patients on long-term metformin treatment had an even lower risk of subsequent dementia incidence.Metformin may act beyond its effect on hyperglycemia and has the potential of being repurposed for dementia prevention.