Diabetes drugs can also reduce asthma attacks

This is a photo of an Asian man pricking his finger to test his blood sugar for diabetes.

Certain medicines prescribed for type 2 diabetes show promise in reducing asthma attacks, according to new findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In the study, “Antidiabetic Medication and Asthma Attacks,” British researchers found that the most commonly prescribed type 2 diabetes drug, metformin, combined with a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) can reduce airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness. This class of drugs includes popular weight-loss injectables such as Ozempic. 

Researchers gathered data from the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) Aurum and shed light on the role obesity or an elevated body mass index (BMI) and type 2 diabetes play in asthma risk and control.

The study's authors examined data from more than two million adults with asthma. Participants had type 2 diabetes and were recently prescribed metformin. The primary outcome measured the first asthma exacerbation within a 12-month follow-up period, defined by the need for oral corticosteroids, unscheduled hospital visits or asthma-related deaths. Researchers further evaluated patients’ use of add-on antidiabetic medications (GLP-1RA, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, sulphonylureas, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and insulin).

The study found that metformin was associated with a 30% lower rate of asthma attacks. Add-on medications showed an additional benefit, further reducing the rate of asthma attacks by another 40%.

Although type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity, researchers said the study suggests that the reduction in asthma attacks was not solely due to improved glycemic control or weight loss. The benefits were observed across different asthma phenotypes, indicating other underlying mechanisms at play.

These positive results suggest that metformin and GLP-1RA, combined, could play an important role in reducing asthma attacks and managing asthma in patients with type 2 diabetes, potentially improving their quality of life and reducing health care costs.

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