Metformin treatment does not affect the risk of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms
Abstract
Diabetes counteracts formation and rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms, possibly through arterial matrix accumulation. Use of metformin, on the other hand, reduces arterial accumulation of matrix molecules. Consequently, we hypothesized that metformin treatment may reverse the protective role of diabetes on the development and course of aneurysms, that is, that metformin would be associated with aneurysm rupture among individuals with diabetes. Using nationwide Danish registry data, we performed a nested case-control study on the association between long-term use of metformin and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA). The source population was defined as all individuals in Denmark with diabetes. Cases were all individuals within the source population who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of RAAA. For each case, 10 controls matched by age and sex were randomly selected from the source population by risk set sampling. The main exposure measure was a cumulative dispensing of 1000 g of metformin between January 1995 and the index date. We identified 362 cases of RAAA during 1998 to 2013, of which 83.7% occurred in men with a median age of 74 years. In total, 22.4% of the case population were long-term metformin users...Continue Reading
References
An analysis of drug modulation of abdominal aortic aneurysm growth through 25 years of surveillance.
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Aortic Aneurysm
An aortic aneurysm is the weakening and bulging of the blood vessel wall in the aorta. This causes dilatation of the aorta, which is usually asymptomatic but carries the risk of rupture and hemorrhage. Find the latest research on aortic aneurysms here.
Aneurysm
Aneurysms are outward distensions or bulges that occurs in a weakened wall of blood vessels. Discover the latest research on aneurysms here.
Cardiac Aneurysm
Aneurysm refers to a bulge of the wall or lining of a vessel commonly occurring in the blood vessels at the base of the septum or within the aorta. In the heart, it usually arises from a patch of weakened tissue in a ventricular wall, which swells into a bubble filled with blood. Discover the latest research on cardiac aneurysm here.