Key Points
A new study says that taking the commonly used diabetes drug metformin after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 may reduce the risk of developing long Covid by 40%..
The US study published in the Lancet comprising 1,126 overweight and obese people found that 6.3% of about participants (35/564) who took the medicine within three days of testing positive for Covid reported a long Covid diagnosis within 10 months as compared to 10.4% (58/562) of those who received a placebo..
This is the first published randomised control trial to suggest medication taken during the acute phase of Covid may be able to reduce the risk of long Covid, the Lancet said...
"Long Covid is a significant public health emergency that may have lasting physical health, mental health, and economic impacts, especially in socioeconomically marginalised groups," said first author Dr Carolyn Bramante, University of Minnesota Medical School..
"Our study showed that metformin, a medication that is safe, low-cost, and widely available, substantially reduces the risk of being diagnosed with long Covid if taken when first infected with the coronavirus," Bramante said..
