Antacids improved blood sugar control in people with diabetes, but had no effect on reducing the risk of diabetes in the general population, according to a new meta-analysis published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Type 2 diabetes is a global public health problem that affects nearly 10 percent of people worldwide. Doctors can prescribe diet and lifestyle changes, diabetes medications, or insulin to help people with diabetes better control their blood sugar, but recent data suggests popular over-the-counter antacids as another way to improve blood sugar levels.
Our research has shown that prescribing antacids as an addition to standard therapy was superior to standard therapy in lowering hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and fasting blood sugar in people with diabetes. “
Carol Chiung-Hui Peng, MD, study author, University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus, Baltimore, Maryland.
“In people without diabetes, taking antacids did not significantly change their risk of developing the disease,” said study author Huei-Kai Huang, MD of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien, Taiwan.
Researchers performed a meta-analysis on the effects of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) – a commonly used type of antacid – on blood sugar levels in people with diabetes and whether these drugs could prevent diabetes from recurring in general in the population. The analysis included seven studies (342 participants) on blood sugar control and 5 studies (244, 439 participants) on the risk of developing diabetes. The researchers found that antacids can lower HbA1c levels by 0.36% in people with diabetes and lower fasting blood sugar by 10 mg / dL, based on the results of seven clinical studies. For those without diabetes, the results of the five studies showed that antacids had no effect on reducing the risk of diabetes.
“People with diabetes should be aware that these commonly used antacids can improve their glycemic control, and providers may consider these blood sugar-lowering effects when prescribing these drugs for their patients,” said study author Kashif Munir, MD, associate professor in the Department of Endocrinology , Diabetes and Nutrition at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.
Source:
Journal reference:
Peng, C. CH., et al. (2021) Effects of Proton Pump Inhibitors on Glycemic Control and Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgab353.