Unexpected Side Effect of Metformin: Anti-Aging

Key Takeaways

Metformin is not an anti-aging drug, but research has found that an unexpected health benefit of metformin is its potential anti-aging properties. It improves insulin resistance and prevents oxidative stress, key factors in many age-related diseases.
Metformin may also slow down age-related cognitive decline. Metformin, therefore, also has the potential to improve the quality of life during a person’s lifespan.
More research is needed to say whether metformin use can extend lifespan. Specifically, randomized clinical trials are necessary to learn more.

The diabetes drug metformin is widely used to control blood glucose levels to treat diabetes in people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Having blood glucose under control can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes-associated complications, and other age-related diseases. Metformin is also used off-label to treat gestational diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, research has found that one of the unexpected health benefits of metformin is its anti-aging properties. Please keep reading to find out how metformin affects aging.

What are the usual effects of metformin?

Metformin hydrochloride is a prescription drug that helps to control blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus through its effects on glucose metabolism. Metformin slows hepatic gluconeogenesis (hepatic glucose production) and improves insulin sensitivity while reducing glucose absorption in the stomach and intestines.

Is metformin an anti-aging drug?

Metformin is not an anti-aging drug. It is not currently prescribed to extend the life span for people with or without diabetes. However, researchers are studying many different drugs, including metformin, that could have beneficial effects on the aging process.

These drugs can potentially increase lifespan (how long a person lives) and extend health span (how healthy a person remains for as long as they live).

The effects of the anti-diabetic drug metformin are well known. Metformin has been safely and effectively used for decades in people with diabetes, a chronic disease that can accelerate aging and increase mortality. Therefore, if you have Type 2 diabetes, and your healthcare provider prescribes metformin to manage your diabetes, as long as metformin is effective at managing your blood glucose without significant side effects, these potential health benefits, including its anti-aging effects, are an advantage. You should continue to take metformin exactly as directed by your doctor,

How does metformin slow aging?

Here’s what the research shows about the anti-aging properties of metformin:

Aging research has found that metformin appears to target aging through different metabolic and cellular processes. It improves insulin resistance and prevents oxidative stress, which are key factors in many age-related chronic diseases.
A meta-analysis of 53 studies found that independent of its effect on diabetes, metformin reduces all-cause mortality, specifically, death from aging-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer. The study also found that people with diabetes taking metformin have lower mortality rates than diabetic patients taking other diabetes drugs.
Weight gain and obesity are linked to an increased risk of many chronic diseases. Metformin use can result in modest weight loss and delay aging by lowering the risk of obesity-related chronic diseases. However, it is not a weight loss drug.
The Diabetes Prevention Program found that metformin use in people without diabetes can significantly lower the incidence of diabetes, particularly in obese or overweight individuals without diabetes.
There is also evidence that metformin slows down age-related cognitive decline. Studies in mice have shown that metformin therapy during late middle age may slow the development of mild cognitive impairment in old age. Metformin, therefore, has the potential not only to slow aging but also to improve health span, i.e., the quality of life during a person’s lifespan.
Studies in mice have shown that metformin increases lifespan in mice.

Can metformin make you look younger?

More research is needed to say whether metformin can make you look younger. There is some evidence that metformin exerts inhibitory effects on reactive oxygen species and cellular senescence (oxidative stress and cell death), which are known to speed up the aging process.

Does metformin improve skin?

Studies have found that metformin use can reduce the inflammatory response and protect against immune-mediated skin diseases and skin cancer. It is unclear if metformin use can improve the appearance of the skin.

Do celebrities take metformin?

We don’t know if celebrities take metformin to delay biological aging and increase lifespan. This drug is FDA-approved only to lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. Its potential benefits in extending life expectancy need more research.

Can I take metformin for anti-aging?

Metformin is not prescribed for its anti-aging effects. More research is needed to say whether metformin use can extend lifespan. Moreover, metformin use carries serious risks, such as lactic acidosis (too much lactic acid in the body).

If you are currently taking metformin for diabetes, and it’s effective in managing your blood glucose and well-tolerated, these potential anti-aging effects of metformin are definitely a plus. However, if you don’t currently have diabetes, it is not recommended to take metformin solely for its anti-aging effects. The good news is that there is much research looking into its role in promoting healthy aging and extending life expectancy. For example, Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) is a six-year series of clinical trials looking at whether metformin can delay age-related chronic diseases. At this time, it looks like the TAME trial may begin in the next year or two (2024 to 2025, approximately).

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