Trial reportThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2010
Metformin reduces arterial stiffness and improves endothelial function in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2010. The graph read 2 numbers from its abstract, feeding 2 cells of the map: it . It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 60 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
RESULTS: Metformin improved AIx [-6.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) for the difference -8.5 to -3.5%; P < 0.001], aortic PWV (-0.76 m/sec; 95% CI for the difference -1.12 to -0.4 m/sec; P < 0.001), brachial PWV (-0.73 m/sec; 95% CI for the difference -1.09 to -0.38; P < 0.001), central blood pressure (P < 0.001), and endothelium-dependent (AIx after albuterol; P = 0.003) and endothelium-independent (AIx after nitroglycerin; P < 0.001) vascular responses.
Read, but not usablea number the graph found but could not read as for or against
RESULTS: Metformin improved AIx [-6.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) for the difference -8.5 to -3.5%; P < 0.001], aortic PWV (-0.76 m/sec; 95% CI for the difference -1.12 to -0.4 m/sec; P < 0.001), brachial PWV (-0.73 m/sec; 95% CI for the difference -1.09 to -0.38; P < 0.001), central blood pressure (P < 0.001), and endothelium-dependent (AIx after albuterol; P = 0.003) and endothelium-independent (AIx after nitroglycerin; P < 0.001) vascular responses.
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Where it lands on the map
Rows are treatments, columns are outcomes. The coloured squares are the cells this paper feeds, coloured by the vote it casts there. Click one to jump to what this paper adds to it.
What it adds to each cell
For every cell the paper feeds: the belief in the claim with and without this paper, and this paper's estimate drawn against every other readable study in the cell. The ringed dot is this paper.
Metformin×blood pressure
No readable resultOpen on the map →What to test next →6 readable studies in this cell: 2 favour the treatment, 3 find no difference, 1 favour the comparator.
Metformin×cardiac & vascular function
No readable resultOpen on the map →What to test next →4 readable studies in this cell: 1 favour the treatment, 3 find no difference, 0 favour the comparator.
This paper's own estimate is on a different scale from the rest of the cell, so it is not drawn here.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomized Trial of Metformin as Adjunct Therapy for Overweight Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes
Effect of Metformin on Insulin Sensitivity and Pan-Arterial Vascular Function in Adults With Metabolic Syndrome
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 156 citations in OpenAlex.
- Circulating inflammatory markers in polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and metaanalysis.Fertility and sterility · 2011Pooled it
- Metformin Alters Exercise Training Induced Blood Pressure and Aortic Waveform Adaptations in Adults at Risk for Metabolic Syndrome.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2026Trial
- Effect of Metformin on Microvascular Endothelial Function in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.Mayo Clinic proceedings · 2019Trial
- Inadequacy of initiating rosuvastatin then metformin on biochemical profile of polycystic ovarian syndrome patients.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2015Trial
- The effect of empagliflozin on arterial stiffness and heart rate variability in subjects with uncomplicated type 1 diabetes mellitus.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2014 · on this mapTrial
- Effects of insulin glargine versus metformin on glycemic variability, microvascular and beta-cell function in early type 2 diabetes.Acta diabetologica · 2013Trial
- Does metformin improve vascular health in children with type 1 diabetes? Protocol for a one year, double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial.BMC pediatrics · 2013Trial
- Relation between augmentation index and adiponectin during one-year metformin treatment for nonalcoholic steatohepatosis: effects beyond glucose lowering?Cardiovascular diabetology · 2012Trial
- Prognostic effect of circulating adiponectin in a randomized 2 x 2 trial of low-dose tamoxifen and fenretinide in premenopausal women at risk for breast cancer.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2012Trial
- The effects of metformin or orlistat on obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a prospective randomized open-label study.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2011Trial
- Mitochondrial dysfunction in endothelial senescence: implications for vascular remodeling and therapeutic strategies.Archives of pharmacal research · 2026Review
- Impact of cardiometabolic risk factors and its management on the reversion and progression of arterial stiffness.NPJ cardiovascular health · 2025Review
- Arterial Stiffness and Markers of Atrial Myopathy.Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc · 2025Article
- Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity as a Predictor of Diabetes Development: Elevated Risk Within Normal Range Values in a Low-Risk Population.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2024Article
- Effect of low-dose terazosin on arterial stiffness improvement: A pilot study.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2024Article
- Possible Effect of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) on Cardiovascular Disease (CVD): An Update.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Metformin dosage and galectin-3 levels: insights from PCOS patients preparing for IVF.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Early aging and premature vascular aging in chronic kidney disease.Clinical kidney journal · 2023Review
- Advanced glycation end products: Key mediator and therapeutic target of cardiovascular complications in diabetes.World journal of diabetes · 2023Review
- Aging of the Arterial System.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The marked sentences are the ones the graph read a number from.
contextPatients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased prevalence of insulin resistance and display subclinical evidence of early cardiovascular disease. Metformin improves insulin sensitivity and circulating markers of cardiovascular risk in patients with PCOS, but it is unclear whether this translates into improvements in vascular function.
objectiveOur objective was to evaluate the effects of metformin on arterial stiffness and endothelial function in women with PCOS. DESIGN AND
interventionThirty women with PCOS were assigned to consecutive 12-wk treatment periods of metformin or placebo in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design separated by an 8-wk washout.
main outcome measuresThe primary outcome measures were assessments of arterial stiffness [augmentation index (AIx), central blood pressure, and brachial and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV)] and endothelial function. Anthropometry, testosterone, and metabolic biochemistry (lipids, homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, adiponectin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) were also assessed.
resultsMetformin improved AIx [-6.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) for the difference -8.5 to -3.5%; P < 0.001], aortic PWV (-0.76 m/sec; 95% CI for the difference -1.12 to -0.4 m/sec; P < 0.001), brachial PWV (-0.73 m/sec; 95% CI for the difference -1.09 to -0.38; P < 0.001), central blood pressure (P < 0.001), and endothelium-dependent (AIx after albuterol; P = 0.003) and endothelium-independent (AIx after nitroglycerin; P < 0.001) vascular responses. Metformin also reduced weight (P < 0.001), waist circumference (P < 0.001), and triglycerides (P = 0.004) and increased adiponectin (P = 0.001) but did not affect testosterone or other metabolic measures.
conclusionsShort-term metformin therapy improves arterial stiffness and endothelial function in young women with PCOS.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.