The Diabetes Drugs That Can Cut Asthma Attacks By 70%

Asthma, obesity, and type 2 diabetes are closely linked, with the latter two greatly increasing asthma attack risk.

While bronchodilators / corticosteroids can have immediate adverse effects due to sympathetic nervous system activation, and lasting adverse effects due to the damage it does to metabolic health, diabetes drugs, on the other hand, can improve things with (for most people) fewer unwanted side effects.

Great! Which drugs?

Metformin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs).

Specifically, researchers have found:

• Metformin is associated with a 30% reduction in asthma attacks
• GLP-1RAs are associated with a 40% reduction in asthma attacks

…and yes, they stack, making for a 70% reduction in the case of people taking both. Furthermore, the results are independent of weight, glycemic control, or asthma phenotype.

In terms of what was counted, the primary outcome was asthma attacks at 12-month follow-up, defined by oral corticosteroid use, emergency visits, hospitalizations, or death.

The effect of metformin on asthma attacks was not affected by BMI, HbA1c levels, eosinophil count, asthma severity, or sex.

Of the various extra antidiabetic drugs trialled in this study, only GLP-1 receptor agonists showed a further and sustained reduction in asthma attacks.

Here’s the study itself, hot off the press, published on Monday:

JAMA Int. Med. | Antidiabetic Medication and Asthma Attacks

“But what if I’m not diabetic?”

Good news:

More than half of all US adults are eligible for semaglutide therapy ← this is because they’ve expanded the things that semaglutide (the widely-used GLP-1 receptor agonist drug) can be prescribed for, now going beyond just diabetes and/or weight loss 😎

And metformin, of course, is more readily available than semaglutide, so by all means speak with your doctor/pharmacist about that, if it’s of interest to you.

Take care!