Diabetes drug safe for men who may become fathers: Study
MNP – Men can take the widely prescribed diabetes drug metformin without fear of causing birth defects in their children, according to results of a large study published on Wednesday.
Tracking more than three million pregnancies in Norway and Taiwan, researchers found no association between birth defects and use of metformin by fathers during the three months before conception, which is the period of sperm development.
Metformin, a relatively inexpensive generic medicine, is typically the first drug prescribed for Type 2 diabetes, by far the more prevalent form of the disease.
A 2022 study from Denmark had found that metformin was associated with a 1.4 times greater risk of birth defects in boys whose fathers were taking the drug. Studies conducted since have not confirmed that association.
In June, a pair of studies published in Annals of Internal Medicine suggested that neither maternal nor paternal metformin use increases the risk of congenital malformations.
The use of data from two different populations in Norway and Taiwan strengthens the new study’s results, Dr. Allan Pacey, an expert in male reproductive health issues at the University of Manchester in the UK, said in a statement.
