Metformin as a lipid-lowering drug in non-diabetic patients
Keywords:
metformin, dyslipidemia, non-diabeticAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of therapy
with metformin on the lipid profile of dyslipidemic, non-diabetic patients.
METHODS: We studied the subgroup of non-diabetic patients from our Lipidology / Dyslipidemia outpatient clinic who were treated with metformin as first lipid lowering drug (n=17),
and evaluated the lipid profile before and 3 months after introducing the drug. We compared
the baseline characteristics of this group with
those of a sample of non-diabetic dyslipidemic patients treated differently.
RESULTS: Three months after introducing
metformin, there was a 41,8% significant reduction of triglycerides (p=0.006), as well as a
10.4% reduction of total cholesterol and a 5.9%
raise of HDL cholesterol, which did not reach
statistical significance. LDL cholesterol did not vary significantely.
The non-diabetic patients who were treated
with metformin had lower mean HDL cholesterol and higher mean triglycerides than the other non-diabetics.
CONCLUSION: Metformin emerges as a good
lipid-lowering drug in non-diabetic patients,
particularly for patients with hypertriglyceridemia and other features of the metabolic syndrome.
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