Metformin May 'Substantially Lower' Dementia Risk in Older Blacks

A study in Annals of Family Medicine found older African Americans in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system treated with metformin for diabetes had a significantly reduced risk for dementia compared to individuals on sulfonylureas, reports Healio . The researchers analyzed medical records of 73,761 people — 10,559 of them African American — treated at VA hospitals between 2000 and 2015 who had not received diabetes medications or a dementia diagnosis before fiscal year 2002. African Americans were 58.2 years old, on average, compared to 61.3 years among whites. After controlling for confounding, metformin use was associated with a much lower risk for dementia versus sulfonylureas in African Americans. The strongest link was observed in African Americans 50 to 64 years old, while metformin was significantly associated with lower risk for dementia in both blacks and whites 65 to 74 years old. "African Americans suffer more diabetes-related cognitive decline than whites," noted Jeffrey F. Scherrer at Saint Louis University. "African Americans are more likely to have cardiovascular disease before dementia, general inflammation, and are at higher risk for vascular dementia. Metformin appears to reduce risk for cardiovascular disease and has anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, these additional metformin effects may be particularly beneficial for African Americans."