International Journal of General Medicine (Jul 2021)

Diabetes Monotherapies versus Metformin-Based Combination Therapy for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

  • Singh AK,
  • Singh R,
  • Chakraborty PP

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 3833 – 3848

Abstract

Read online

Awadhesh K Singh,1 Ritu Singh,1 Partha Pratim Chakraborty2 1Department of Diabetes & Endocrinology, G.D Hospital & Diabetes Institute, Kolkata, India; 2Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Medical College, Kolkata, IndiaCorrespondence: Awadhesh K SinghG.D Hospital & Diabetes Institute, Kolkata, 700014, IndiaTel +91 9831020428Email [email protected]: Step-wise addition of antihyperglycemic agents (AHA) after the initiation of metformin monotherapy has been the traditional approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) world-wide. Emerging evidence increasingly suggests that metformin-based combination therapy, especially with the newer AHA that lowers HbA1c glucose-dependently and do not potentiate hypoglycemia, could be a potentially better option for durable glycemic control with good tolerability compared to diabetes monotherapy. In this review, we descriptively analyzed the evidence available from the systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized head-to-head trials that reported the efficacy and safety outcomes of diabetes monotherapy, metformin-based combination therapies, and monotherapy versus metformin-based combination therapies.Keywords: type 2 diabetes, monotherapy, combination therapies, efficacy, safety outcomes

Keywords