ReviewPloS one2015
Comparison of glucose lowering effect of metformin and acarbose in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis.
Review in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 5 of them syntheses 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.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Extended Treatment with Micron-Size Oral Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) in Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of open vs. closed kinetic chain exercises in ACL rehabilitation on knee joint pain, laxity, extensor muscles strength, and function: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Pooled it
- The Effectiveness of Ultrasound Deep Heat Therapy for Adhesive Capsulitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of Prehabilitation Including Exercise on Postoperative Outcomes Following Abdominal Cancer Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Metformin monotherapy for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020 · on this mapPooled it
- Trial
- Microfluidic-based systems for the management of diabetes.Drug delivery and translational research · 2024Review
- Social Skills Interventions for Adolescents with Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2024Review
- Screening of α-Glucosidase Inhibitors inACS omega · 2024Article
- Metformin: A Review of Potential Mechanism and Therapeutic Utility Beyond Diabetes.Drug design, development and therapy · 2023Review
- A Clinical Decision Support System for Diabetes Patients with Deep Learning: Experience of a Taiwan Medical Center.International journal of medical sciences · 2022Article
- Different Interactive Effects of Metformin and Acarbose With Dietary Macronutrient Intakes on Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Novel Findings From the MARCH Randomized Trial in China.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Inpatient use of metformin and acarbose is associated with reduced mortality of COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism · 2022Article
- Forty-One Plant Extracts Screened for Dual Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Functions: Evaluating the Types of Correlation between -Amylase Inhibition and Free Radical Scavenging.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Can Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improve Athletic Performance? A Systematic Review.Journal of human kinetics · 2020Article
- Metformin and Its Benefits for Various Diseases.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Review
- High hopes and high honours for cancer immunotherapy.Biomedical journal · 2019Article
- Review
- Metabolic Effects of Metformin in the Failing Heart.International journal of molecular sciences · 2018Review
- Factors That Influence Pancreatic Beta Cell Function and Insulin Resistance in Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Sub-Analysis of the MARCH Trial.Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMetformin is the first-line oral hypoglycemic agent for type 2 diabetes mellitus recommended by international guidelines. However, little information exists comparing it with acarbose which is also commonly used in China. This study expanded knowledge by combining direct and indirect evidence to ascertain the glucose lowering effects of both drugs.
methodsPubMed (1980- December 2013) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases (1994-January 2014) were systematically searched for eligible randomized controlled trials from Chinese and English literatures. Meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the glucose lowering effects of metformin vs. acarbose, or either of them vs. common comparators (placebo or sulphonylureas), using random- and fixed-effect models. Bucher method with indirect treatment comparison calculator was applied to convert the summary estimates from the meta-analyses into weighted-mean-difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to represent the comparative efficacy between metformin and acarbose.
resultsA total of 75 studies were included in the analysis. In direct comparison (8 trials), metformin reduced glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) by 0.06% more than acarbose, with no significant difference (WMD,-0.06%; 95% CI, -0.32% to 0.20%). In indirect comparisons (67 trials), by using placebo and sulphonylureas as common comparators, metformin achieved significant HbA1c reduction than acarbose, by -0.38% (WMD,-0.38%, 95% CI, -0.736% to -0.024%) and -0.34% (WMD, -0.34%, 95% CI, -0.651% to -0.029%) respectively.
conclusionThe glucose lowering effects of metformin monotherapy and acarbose monotherapy are the same by direct comparison, while metformin is a little better by indirect comparison. This implies that the effect of metformin is at least as good as acarbose's.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
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.