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Metformin Was Associated with Lower All-Cause Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes with Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Nationwide Registry with Propensity Score-Matched Analysis
24 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2018
More...Abstract
Background: No randomized controlled trials evaluating metformin therapy efficacy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have been reported. Well-designed retrospective studies controlling for imbalance in baseline patient characteristics are scarce. We aimed to examine the mortality benefit of metformin therapy in patients with type 2 DM and ACS, compared with non-metformin anti-diabetes agent users.
Method: Data were extracted from the prospective nationwide ACS-DM Taiwan Society of Cardiology registry. Propensity score (PS) matching on baseline characteristics and treatment measures was performed for metformin versus non-metformin users. Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare mortality outcomes among the PS-matched cohort as a primary analysis. Traditional Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for all pre-determined covariates and quintiles of the PS among the overall population were performed as a secondary analysis.
Findings: Of 1157 patients with type 2 DM and ACS receiving anti-diabetes agents, 78 patients (6.7%) died over the 2-year follow-up period. After PS matching, 318 metformin users were matched with 318 non-metformin users. Metformin users had a lower all-cause mortality rate (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0·50, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0·26-0·95) in the primary analysis. The survival benefit of metformin therapy was consistent in the secondary analyses (aHR 0·30, 95% CI 0·17-0·54 while adjusting for all pre-determined covariates, and aHR 0·34, 95% CI 0·19-0·59 while adjusting for quintiles of the PS).
Interpretation: Among patients with type 2 DM and ACS, metformin was associated with lower all-cause mortality.
Funding Statement: This work was supported with grants from the Hsin-Chu branch of the National Taiwan University Hospital (HCH-106036). The funding source also provided technical help (Biotechnology R&D Center) with data analysis and interpretation of the findings.
Declaration of Interest: All authors report no relationships that could be construed as a conflict of interest.
Ethics Approval Statement: Patients are treated according to international or local guidelines and evidence-based strategies. The protocol and consent forms used in this study were consistent with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant regulations. The ethics committees of each participating hospital approved the study, and all enrolled patients provided written informed consent.
Keywords: metformin; diabetes mellitus; acute coronary syndrome; mortality
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