Gender-differential effects on blood glucose levels between acarbose and metformin in Chinese patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: a sub-analysis of the MARCH trial
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Using the data from the trial of Metformin and AcaRbose in Chinese as the initial Hypoglycemic treatment (MARCH), this study was performed to compare the differential effects of acarbose and metformin on glucose metabolism after stratification by gender. Six hundred and forty patients who had finished the whole 48-week follow-up were included. The reduction of haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was comparable between acarbose- and metformin-treated patients among either females or males, and it was also similar between males and females treated with either acarbose or metformin for 24 and 48 weeks. The dropping of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in acarbose-treated females was significantly less than that in metformin-treated females at both 24 and 48 weeks. Furthermore, the decrease of 2-hour postprandial glucose (2hPPG) in acarbose-treated males was significantly greater than that in metformin-treated males at both 24 and 48 weeks. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that drug selection was an independent factor affecting the decrease of FPG in female patients while it independently influenced 2hPPG in males at week 24 and 48. The reductions of FPG and 2hPPG at week 24 and 48 were also significantly different between metformin-treated females and metformin-treated males although gender was not an independent regulating factor. Our study indicates that there might be gender-differential effects on FPG and 2hPPG reduction when the comparisons are made between acarbose and metformin treatments.
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Metformin produces similar results in terms of glycemic efficacy between the two sexes.
“A case in point is metformin, the first-line treatment drug for T2DM, which produces similar results in terms of glycemic efficacy between the two sexes [79,80].”
From Sex Differences in Response to Treatment with Glucagon-like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists: Opportunities for a Tailored Approach to Diabetes and Obesity Care (2022) · cites this paper as [79]
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- Authors
- Li, J., Li, J., Shan, Z., Yang, W., Liu, J., Tian, H., Zhou, Z., Ji, Q., Weng, J., Jia, W., Lu, J., Liu, J., Xu, Y., & Yang, Z.
- Affiliations
- Dalian Medical University (CN)
- First Hospital of China Medical University (CN)
- China-Japan Friendship Hospital (CN)
- Gansu Provincial Hospital (CN)
- Sichuan University (CN)
- Central South University (CN)
- Xijing Hospital (CN)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Chinese People's Liberation Army (CN)
- Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University (CN)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Endocrine Journal
- Publisher
- Japan Endocrine Society
- Published
- 2021
- Volume
- 68
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 69-79
- ISSN
- 0918-8959 (ISSN-L)
- 1348-4540
- OpenAlex
- W3084354032
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 2.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Endocrine Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Bayer HealthCare
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Treatment and Management
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
- Keywords
- acarbose, metformin, type 2 diabetes, gender differences, blood glucose, fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, HbA1c, Chinese patients
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Blood Glucose, China, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Metformin, Middle Aged, Sex Characteristics, Treatment Outcome, Acarbose
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