Evidence mapPaperPMID 33489086Full record

ReviewTherapeutic advances in endocrinology and metabolism2021

Should metformin remain the first-line therapy for treatment of type 2 diabetes?

Chelsea Baker, Cimmaron Retzik-Stahr, Vatsala Singh, Renee Plomondon, Victoria Anderson, Neda Rasouli

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Therapeutic advances in endocrinology and metabolism, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 84 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
84citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
16.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

84 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 168 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Repurposing metformin for choriocarcinoma: targeting the AMPK/mTOR pathway.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026
    Review
  6. Vitamin BBMJ open · 2026
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Observational
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Metformin as a potential neuroprotective agent that influence Parkinson's disease.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Review
  19. Review
  20. Review

24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Chelsea BakerDepartment of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12401 E. 17th Ave.; Room 353, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9807-7115
Cimmaron Retzik-StahrDepartment of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
Vatsala SinghDepartment of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
Renee PlomondonDepartment of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
Victoria AndersonDepartment of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
Neda RasouliDepartment of Medicine, University of Colorado and Division of Endocrinology, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
Rocky Mountain MS Center · USThe Medical Center of Aurora · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metformin is a biguanide that is used as first-line treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and is effective as monotherapy and in combination with other glucose-lowering medications. It is generally well-tolerated with minimal side effects and is affordable. Although the safety and efficacy of metformin have been well-established, there is discussion regarding whether metformin should continue to be the first choice for therapy as other anti-hyperglycemic medications exhibit additional advantages in certain populations. Despite a long-standing history of metformin use, there are limited cardiovascular outcomes data for metformin. Furthermore, the available studies fail to provide strong evidence due to either small sample size or short duration. Recent data from glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor cardiovascular and renal outcomes trials demonstrated additional protection from diabetes complications for some high-risk patients, which has impacted the guidelines for diabetes management. Post-hoc analyses comparing hazard ratios for participants taking metformin at baseline

Indexed as

first-line therapymetformintype 2 diabetes

Identifiers

PMID33489086
PMCPMC7809522
OpenAlexW3123073211

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.