Can Metformin Lower AMD Risk?

Patients with diabetes who were treated with metformin had nearly a 50% reduction in the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a recent study presented at AAO 2018.

Inflammation and oxidative stress have been shown to be associated with increased production of vascular endothelial growth factor, which is, in turn, associated with AMD development. Because metformin has both anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, researchers speculated that treatment with the medication could reduce the risk of AMD.

For their study, the researchers identified 73,118 patients with new diagnoses of diabetes during 2001-2013, excluding patients with type 1 diabetes and a diagnosis of AMD at enrollment. This left 68,205 eligible patients, 45,524 of whom had 1 or more prescriptions for metformin.

At baseline, those in the metformin group had a higher prevalence of systemic comorbidities. Following adjustment for age, gender, and comorbidities, there was a significantly lower risk of AMD in the metformin group than in the control group (HR 0.53).

“In type 2 diabetic patients, metformin is associated with a significantly lower risk of subsequent AMD,” they concluded.

—Michael Potts

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