Study finds metformin reduces the risk of long COVID by 40%
Metformin – a cheap, safe, and widely available diabetes drug – could reduce the incidence of long COVID if given during the acute phase of COVID-19, a new study in the Lancet indicates.
A two week course of metformin given within three days of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 led to 40% fewer long COVID diagnoses over the following 10 months compared with people who had taken placebo, according to a randomised controlled trial.
The authors of the study, published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, caution that the trial did not look at whether metformin would be effective as a treatment for those who already have long COVID.
The 1126 people included in the trial had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the previous three days but had no known previous COVID infection.
The median age of participants was 45 years; 44% were male and 56% were female.
Participants were randomly allocated to receive placebo or metformin which was titrated over six days from 500 mg to 1000 mg.
The cumulative incidence of long COVID by day 300 was 6.3% (35 of 564) in participants given metformin compared with 10.4% (58 of 562) in those receiving placebo (hazard ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.39-0.89; P=0.012).
