Study links GLP-1 medicines to lower diabetes risk

A study of 256,492 adults with obesity and prediabetes found that those prescribed GLP-1-based medicines had lower rates of developing type 2 diabetes and death than those prescribed metformin. The observational analysis also associated the medicines with more frequent return of blood sugar to normal and fewer cardiovascular events, but it cannot show that the drugs caused the differences. The findings compare health records for patients prescribed GLP-1 medicines, including semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide and dulaglutide, with records for patients prescribed metformin. The groups were followed for roughly three years. Compared with metformin, GLP-1 treatment was associated with a 31% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a 41% lower risk of death from any cause. Patients in the GLP-1 group were about 1.5 times as likely to return to normal blood sugar levels. The study also reported fewer heart attacks, strokes and heart failure cases among them, as well as fewer cases of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm. These are comparative findings from the study, not estimates of the share of all patients who avoided an event. Researchers matched patients on...