Recent research indicates that the diabetes medication metformin may significantly enhance the chances of older women living to the age of 90. This finding stems from a comprehensive study involving postmenopausal women in the United States and Germany, highlighting the drug’s potential anti-aging effects.
Study Findings and Methodology
The research, conducted using data from a long-term study of postmenopausal women, focused on a total of 438 participants. Half of the women were prescribed metformin to manage type 2 diabetes, while the other half received a different diabetes medication known as sulfonylurea. The results revealed that those taking metformin had a 30 percent lower risk of dying before reaching 90 compared to their sulfonylurea counterparts.
“Metformin has been shown to target multiple pathways of aging and therefore has been postulated as a drug that may extend human longevity,”
write the researchers in their published paper. They further assert that initiating treatment with metformin correlates with a greater likelihood of exceptional longevity among women diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Metformin, a medication that has been available for decades, is recognized as a gerotherapeutic agent, meaning it has properties that can slow down various aging processes in the body. Research has demonstrated its ability to limit DNA damage and promote gene activity associated with extended lifespan. Additionally, previous studies have suggested that metformin may mitigate cognitive decline and even lower the risk of long COVID.
Study Limitations and Future Research
Despite these promising findings, the current study does not establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship, which would typically be confirmed through randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Participants in this study were not randomly assigned to their respective treatments; rather, their medication choices were based on professional medical advice. Moreover, there was no placebo group to compare results against, and the sample size, while significant, was not extensive.
The average follow-up period for participants spanned 14 to 15 years, considerably longer than most standard RCTs, which is crucial for understanding the long-term effects of any treatment on lifespan. “A key advantage of our analysis was the long follow-up period after treatment initiation enabled by examination of a cohort with extensive follow-up from midlife to ages 90 and older, which is not feasible in typical randomized controlled trials,” the researchers noted.
The study was published in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences and presents a foundation for future investigations. Researchers suggest that further RCTs could delve deeper into the relationship between metformin and longevity, helping to clarify the drug’s role in aging.
As the global population continues to age, there is a pressing need for research to identify methods for maintaining health and reducing age-related bodily damage. The overarching goal within the field of geroscience is to explore therapeutic and preventive interventions that can slow biological aging and potentially delay or prevent the onset of various age-related diseases.
“The geroscience hypothesis posits that biological aging is malleable and that slowing biological aging may delay or prevent the onset of multiple age-related diseases and disability,”
the researchers concluded, emphasizing the importance of ongoing studies in this area.
As the scientific community continues to explore the implications of these findings, the potential for metformin to play a significant role in extending healthy lifespans remains an intriguing prospect for both researchers and the public alike.
