Research Has Found Link Between Diabetes Meds and Increased Risk of MS

Research has found that individuals over the age of 45 who treated their Type 2 diabetes with anti-hyperglycemic drugs had a greater multiple sclerosis risk, especially in women, while individuals under the age of 45 using anti-hyperglycemic exposure had a lower risk.¹✅ JOURNAL REFERENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11196

The results strengthen the necessity for a precise medication strategy for the prevention of multiple sclerosis in these susceptible individuals.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune neurological condition affecting the central nervous system that results in severe cognitive and physical disability. It’s estimated that approximately 1 million individuals in the US and over 2.8 million globally live with multiple sclerosis.

For individuals with Type 2 diabetes, there’s increasing evidence associating metabolic disorders and multiple sclerosis by way of increased autoimmunity.

The researchers wanted to determine how the use of anti-hyperglycemic therapeutics for treating Type 2 diabetes, such as insulin, impacted multiple sclerosis incidence.

They discovered that 45 years and older men had a slightly increased multiple sclerosis risk and 45 years and older women had a significant increase in the incidence of multiple sclerosis after anti-hyperglycemic use.

As well as age differences, the risk analysis by class of drug revealed that insulin use in individuals over the age of 45 years old was linked to a greater risk in comparison to other treatments.

Anti-hyperglycemic use was protective against multiple sclerosis development in individuals younger than 45.

The study made use of a database of insurance claims consisting of 151 million individuals to identify over 5 million individuals with a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis as well as either early-onset multiple sclerosis or late-onset multiple sclerosis.

The data was segmented by age, individuals diagnosed before or after 45 years old with Type 2 diabetes, and sex to decode the factors driving multiple sclerosis risk in both groups, particularly in women older than 45.