Metformin users have fewer knee and hip joint replacement than other type two diabetics

A study published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association in Dec 2020, has found that type two diabetics who are on Metformin have about two thirds of the risk of having a hip or knee joint replacement compared to diabetics on other medications.

The study was undertaken by Dr Zhaohua Zhu from Zhujiang Hospital in Guangzhou in China. They compared the records of over twenty thousand patients in each group and compared the duration that they were on the diabetes medications and surgical outcomes.

As they found that Metformin use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of joint replacement, this suggests a potential therapeutic effect in patients who have osteoarthritis. They recommend that randomised controlled trials are undertaken to see if there is a beneficial effect in this group.

My comment: As Metformin has already been shown to reduce cancer incidence, is inexpensive, and reasonably well tolerated both by diabetics and non-diabetics, it would seem a good idea to me for such trials to be carried out.