Several diabetes drugs are linked to lower aortic aneurysm risk
In 3,432,327 adults with type 2 diabetes followed for a mean of 9.2 years, six medication categories were associated with a lower risk of aortic aneurysm.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers studied 3,432,327 adults with type 2 diabetes in a nationwide retrospective cohort study in Taiwan. Participants had a mean age of 60 years, and 53% were male. The team analyzed health insurance records from 2006 to 2022, with a mean follow-up of 9.2 years. They examined links between diabetes medications and aortic aneurysm, an abnormal bulge in the body's main artery.
Metformin use was associated with lower risk, with an adjusted hazard ratio—a measure of relative risk—of 0.76. The combined sulfonylureas/meglitinide category was also linked to lower risk, as were four other medication categories. Insulin use was associated with higher risk, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.31. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, another class of diabetes drugs, had no statistically significant association; the range of likely values included no difference.
Why it matters
Earlier studies have paradoxically found a lower incidence of aortic aneurysm in patients with type 2 diabetes despite their cardiovascular risk factors. Determining how specific medication classes relate to this vascular condition bears on whether metabolic therapies help shape blood vessel health in people aging with type 2 diabetes.
Caveats
Because this was an observational study based on health insurance records, it can show only links rather than cause and effect. In addition, the results come entirely from adults with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan and may not apply to people without diabetes or from other regions.
The paper
Taichung Veterans General Hospital; Taipei Medical University
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
