Association of Metformin Use With End-Stage Renal Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Cohort Study Under the Pay-for-Performance Program

Pay-for-performance in Taiwan: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical literature

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the impact of pay-for-performance (P4P) programmes on healthcare in Taiwan.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed using the PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane review, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases up to July 2023. Meta-analysis of the available outcomes was conducted using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

The search yielded 85 studies, of which 58 investigated the programme for diabetes mellitus (DM), eight looked at the programme for chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the remaining studies examined programmes for breast cancer, tuberculosis, schizophrenia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The DM P4P programme was a cost-effective strategy associated with reduced hospitalisation and subsequent complications. The CKD P4P was associated with a lower risk of dialysis initiation. The P4P programme also improved outcomes in breast cancer, cure rates in tuberculosis, reduced admissions for schizophrenia and reduced acute exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The meta-analysis revealed that the P4P programme for DM (odds ratio [OR] = 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.48-0.73) and CKD (OR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.67-0.81) significantly reduced mortality risk. However, participation rate in the DM P4P programme was only 19% in 2014.

CONCLUSIONS

P4P programmes in Taiwan improve quality of care. However, participation was voluntary and the participation rate was very low, raising the concern of selective enrolment of participants (i.e. 'cherry-picking' behaviour) by physicians. Future programme reforms should focus on well-designed features with the aim of reducing healthcare disparities.

Within and post-trial effects of an intensive lifestyle intervention on kidney disease in adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus: a secondary analysis of the Look AHEAD clinical trial

INTRODUCTION

The Look AHEAD randomized clinical trial reported that an 8-year intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) compared with diabetes support and education (DSE) in adults aged 45-76 years with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity delayed kidney disease progression. Here, we report long-term post-intervention follow-up for the trial's secondary outcome of kidney disease.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We examined effects of ILI (n=2570) versus DSE (n=2575) on decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to <45 mL/min/1.73 m2 or need for kidney replacement therapy (KRT: dialysis or kidney transplant) during intervention and post-intervention follow-up (median 15.6 years overall).

RESULTS

Incidence of eGFR <45 mL/min/1.73 m2 was lower in ILI during the intervention (HR=0.80, 95% CI=0.66 to 0.98) but not post-intervention (HR=1.03, 0.86 to 1.23) or overall (HR=0.92, 0.80 to 1.04). There were no significant treatment group differences in KRT. In prespecified subgroup analyses, age×treatment interactions were significant over total follow-up: p=0.001 for eGFR <45 mL/min/1.73 m2 and p=0.01 for KRT. The 2205 participants aged >60 years at baseline had benefit in both kidney outcomes during intervention and overall (HR=0.75, 0.62 to 0.90 for eGFR <45 mL/min/1.73 m2; HR=0.62, 0.43 to 0.91 for KRT). The absolute treatment effects were greater post-intervention: ILI reduced the rate of eGFR <45 mL/min/1.73 m2 by 0.46 and 0.76 cases/100 person-years during and post-intervention, respectively; and reduced KRT by 0.15 and 0.21 cases/100 person-years. The younger participants experienced no such post-intervention benefits.

CONCLUSIONS

ILI reduced kidney disease progression during and following the active intervention in persons aged ≥60 years. ILI should be considered for reducing kidney disease incidence in older persons with type 2 diabetes.

Metformin potentiates nephrotoxicity by promoting NETosis in response to renal ferroptosis

Given the rapidly aging population, aging-related diseases are becoming an excessive burden on the global healthcare system. Metformin has been shown to be beneficial to many age-related disorders, as well as increase lifespan in preclinical animal models. During the aging process, kidney function progressively declines. Currently, whether and how metformin protects the kidney remains unclear. In this study, among longevity drugs, including metformin, nicotinamide, resveratrol, rapamycin, and senolytics, we unexpectedly found that metformin, even at low doses, exacerbated experimentally-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and increased mortality in mice. By single-cell transcriptomics analysis, we found that death of renal parenchymal cells together with an expansion of neutrophils occurs upon metformin treatment after AKI. We identified programmed cell death by ferroptosis in renal parenchymal cells and blocking ferroptosis, or depleting neutrophils protects against metformin-induced nephrotoxicity. Mechanistically, upon induction of AKI, ferroptosis in renal parenchymal cells initiates the migration of neutrophils to the site of injury via the surface receptor CXCR4-bound to metformin-iron-NGAL complex, which results in NETosis aggravated AKI. Finally, we demonstrated that reducing iron showed protective effects on kidney injury, which supports the notion that iron plays an important role in metformin-triggered AKI. Taken together, these findings delineate a novel mechanism underlying metformin-aggravated nephropathy and highlight the mechanistic relationship between iron, ferroptosis, and NETosis in the resulting AKI.

Effects of metformin and intensive lifestyle interventions on the incidence of kidney disease in adults in the DPP/DPPOS

AIMS

We analyzed the incidence of kidney disease in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS) by originally randomized treatment group assignment: Intensive Lifestyle (ILS), Metformin (MET) or Placebo (PLB).

METHODS

The current analyses used a time-to-event approach in which the primary outcome was kidney disease, ascertained as urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) ≥ 3.39 mg/mmol (30 mg/g) or eGFR <45 mL/min/1.73m2, with confirmation required at the next visit, or adjudicated end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).

RESULTS

At a median of 21 years following randomization in DPP, diabetes development was reduced in both the ILS (HR 0.73 [95%CI = 0.62, 0.85]) and MET groups (HR 0.85 [0.73, 0.99]) compared to the PLB group. Although risk for developing the primary kidney disease outcome was higher among those with incident diabetes compared to those without (HR 1.81 [1.43, 2.30]), it did not differ by intervention groups (ILS vs. PLB 1.02 (0.81, 1.29); MET vs. PLB 1.08 (0.86, 1.35). There was a non-significant metformin by age interaction (p = 0.057), with metformin being beneficial for kidney disease in the younger but potentially harmful in the older participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Development of kidney disease was increased in participants who developed diabetes but did not differ by original treatment group assignment.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATIONS

Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) Clinical trial reg. no. NCT00004992 DPP Outcomes Study (DPPOS) Clinical trial reg. no. NCT0038727.

Metformin use and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease: a nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND

Metformin has recently been shown not to increase the risk of lactic acidosis in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Thus, the criteria for metformin use in this population has expanded. However, the relationship between metformin use and clinical outcomes in CKD remains controversial.

METHODS

This study considered data from 97,713 diabetes patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 mL/min/1.73 m2. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), and the secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality and incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

RESULTS

Metformin users had a significantly higher risk of MACCE than non-users (hazard ratio [HR], 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-1.26; p < 0.001). However, metformin users had a lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.74-0.81; p < 0.001) and ESRD (HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.42-0.47; p < 0.001) during follow-up than non-users did. The relationships between metformin use and clinical outcomes remained consistent in propensity score matching analyses and subgroup analyses of patients with adequate adherence to anti-diabetes medication.

CONCLUSION

Treatment with metformin was associated with an increased risk of MACCE in patients with diabetes and CKD. However, metformin users had a lower risk of all-cause mortality and ESRD during follow-up than non-users did. Therefore, metformin needs to be carefully used in patients with CKD.

The Current and Potential Therapeutic Use of Metformin-The Good Old Drug

Metformin, one of the oldest oral antidiabetic agents and still recommended by almost all current guidelines as the first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), has become the medication with steadily increasing potential therapeutic indications. A broad spectrum of experimental and clinical studies showed that metformin has a pleiotropic activity and favorable effect in different pathological conditions, including prediabetes, type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Moreover, there are numerous studies, meta-analyses and population studies indicating that metformin is safe and well tolerated and may be associated with cardioprotective and nephroprotective effect. Recently, it has also been reported in some studies, but not all, that metformin, besides improvement of glucose homeostasis, may possibly reduce the risk of cancer development, inhibit the incidence of neurodegenerative disease and prolong the lifespan. This paper presents some arguments supporting the initiation of metformin in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM, especially those without cardiovascular risk factors or without established cardiovascular disease or advanced kidney insufficiency at the time of new guidelines favoring new drugs with pleotropic effects complimentary to glucose control. Moreover, it focuses on the potential beneficial effects of metformin in patients with T2DM and coexisting chronic diseases.

Metformin and cardiorenal outcomes in diabetes: A reappraisal

The guidance issued to the pharmaceutical industry by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2008 has led to the publication of a series of randomized, controlled cardiovascular outcomes trials with newer therapeutic classes of glucose-lowering medications. Several of these trials, which evaluated the newer therapeutic classes of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, have reported a reduced incidence of major adverse cardiovascular and/or renal outcomes, usually relative to placebo and standard of care. Metformin was the first glucose-lowering agent reported to improve cardiovascular outcomes in the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) and thus became the foundation of standard care. However, as this clinical trial reported more than 20 years ago, differences from current standards of trial design and evaluation complicate comparison of the cardiovascular profiles of older and newer agents. Our article revisits the evidence for cardiovascular protection with metformin and reviews its effects on the kidney.