A new study found that taking metformin, a commonly used diabetes drug, after testing positive for Covid-19 may cut the risk of developing long Covid-19 by 40 per cent. Metformin is a medication that helps control blood sugar levels in people with type-2 diabetes and is widely used in India to treat the disease.
The study involved 1,126 overweight and obese people who were randomly assigned to receive either metformin or a placebo within three days of testing positive for Covid-19. After 10 months, 6.3 per cent of the people who took metformin had a long Covid-19 diagnosis, compared to 10.4 per cent of the people who took the placebo.
Since the trial did not examine the effect of the medicine on those who already had long Covid-19, the authors said that further studies need to be done. “So it cannot draw any conclusion about metformin as a treatment for long Covid-19,” it said.
The authors also pointed out the necessity of more trials on persons with previous Covid-19 infections and those with lower body mass index (BMI).
The Lancet said it was the first published randomised control trial to indicate that medication ingested during the acute phase of Covid-19 could be able to cut the risk of long Covid-19.
Carolyn Bramante, one of the authors of the study, said, “Long Covid-19 is a significant public health emergency that may have lasting physical health, mental health, and economic impacts, especially in socioeconomically marginalised groups.” Potential treatments and ways to prevent this disease are urgently needed, she added.
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The study demonstrated that metformin, a medication that is safe, low-cost, and widely available, substantially reduces the risk of being diagnosed with long Covid-19 if taken when first infected with the coronavirus, Bramante stated. (But) “This trial does not indicate whether metformin would be effective as a treatment for those who already have long Covid-19,” she added.
