A five-year observational study has found a “significant association” between metformin use in people with diabetes and intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – with an incidence reduction of 37% over five years.1

Study authors said metformin has been previously identified as a potential treatment for AMD. Now, photographic screening for diabetic retinopathy has provided an opportunity to conduct a case-control study with systematic AMD grading, they said.

The study aimed to investigate associations between metformin use and incidence and progression of AMD at different grades.

Of 2,545 participants in the study, 2,089 attended and had gradable fundus images on year five.

The authors found that after five years, metformin was associated with reduced incidence of intermediate AMD after adjusting for confounders; a reduced incidence of late AMD that did not remain significant after adjusting for age and sex; and no association between metformin and the incidence of early AMD.

“We have found a significant association between metformin use and reduction in incidence of intermediate AMD by 37% in people with diabetes over five years.

“Previous epidemiological studies of metformin and AMD have used secondary data on AMD. In this observational study, there were baseline differences between groups, although significant findings remained after adjusting for important confounders.

“Given metformin’s anti-ageing therapeutic effects, the reduction in risk is plausible and warrants prospective clinical trials,” the study authors said.

Reference available at mivision.com.au.