Evidence Hub

Metformin reduces new-onset atrial fibrillation risk rather than atrial fibrillation burden in type 2 diabetes patients: A case-control study

Chong-Xia Zhong, Jian Bai, Xin-Hong Qu, Yi-Hai Liu, Zhu Li, H. Hao, Shiyang Qiao, Zhe Zhang et al.

Heliyon, 2024

227 participants · 3 citations

Abstract

Background The effects of metformin on atrial fibrillation (AF) in type 2 diabetes patients remain unclear. We aimed to explore the effects of metformin on AF, including new-onset AF and AF burden, in type 2 diabetes patients with pacemakers. Methods and results This retrospective study included a total of 227 patients. Based on the presence of paroxysmal AF, the patients were divided into a paroxysmal AF group (n = 80) and a non-AF group (n = 147). In the non-AF group, a significant association was observed between metformin use and a lower risk of new-onset AF in multivariable Cox hazards models (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.36; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.14–0.91; p = 0.0311*) when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), drinking, smoking, left atrial dimension, creatinine, complications, and drugs. In the paroxysmal AF group, univariable analysis indicated no association between the AF burden and metformin use (p = 0.817). Furthermore, when adjusted for metformin use, age, sex, BMI, drinking, smoking, cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and ejection fraction in multivariable Cox hazards models, we found a lower proportion of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) both in the total (HR: 0.28; 95 % CI: 0.1–0.82; p = 0.0202*) and the non-AF group (HR: 0.19; 95 % CI: 0.05–0.79; p = 0.0223*) compared to that in the AF group (HR: 0.31; 95 % CI: 0.02–4.41; p = 0.3879). Conclusion In type 2 diabetes patients with pacemakers, metformin…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a case-control, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 227 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free