Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37731055›Full record

ArticleOsteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA2024

The effect of starting metformin on bone mineral density among women with type 2 diabetes in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN).

Daniel H Solomon, Kristine Ruppert, Jane A Cauley, Yinjuan Lian, Hallie Altwies, Albert Shieh, Sherri-Ann M Burnett-Bowie

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Aging-Driven Inter-Organ Crosstalk in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: From Immunometabolic Drift to Multisystem Frailty.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
    Review
  4. Metformin and bone metabolism: unraveling their direct and indirect effects.Therapeutic advances in endocrinology and metabolism · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Daniel H SolomonDivision of Rheumatology, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 60 Fenwood Road, 6014-N, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. dsolomon@bwh.harvard.edu.
Kristine RuppertDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA.
Jane A CauleyDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA.
Yinjuan LianDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA.
Hallie AltwiesDivision of Rheumatology, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 60 Fenwood Road, 6014-N, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Albert ShiehDepartment of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Sherri-Ann M Burnett-BowieEndocrine Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
University of Pittsburgh · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USHarvard University · USMassachusetts General Hospital · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN): The Impact of Midlife and the Menopause Transition on Health and Functioning in Early Old AgeU19AG063720 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Maria Mori Brooks · 2020 to 2026
$61.3M
NIA NIH HHS U19AG063720
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We examined longitudinal changes in BMD among women in the mid-life starting metformin. Study subjects were 57 years old (mean), and 36% were White. Women initiating metformin were similar to noninitiators. During the 3-year follow-up, BMD loss at all anatomic areas was similar between groups and in subgroups including baseline fasting blood glucose. PURPOSE/

introductionWomen with type 2 diabetes have higher bone mineral density (BMD), experience slower BMD loss, but have increased fracture risk. Data regarding the effect of metformin on BMD remain discordant. We examined longitudinal changes in BMD among women in the mid-life starting metformin.

methodsParticipants in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a diverse community-based US cohort, with BMD measurements were evaluated. Propensity score matching helped balance baseline characteristics of metformin initiators versus noninitiators. Mixed model regression tested the change in BMD between groups.

resultsSubjects (n = 248) were 57.4 years old (mean), and 35.9% were White. Women initiating metformin (n = 124) were similar to noninitiators (n = 124) in age and race/ethnicity. During the median 3-year follow-up, BMD loss at all anatomic areas was similar between the metformin initiators and nonusers (all p > 0.3). Subgroup analyses including baseline fasting blood glucose showed no between-group differences. Initiation of metformin (vs. not) in peri-menopausal women was not associated with BMD changes.

conclusionsWomen in the mid-life starting metformin had longitudinal changes in BMD very similar to other women not starting metformin.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2MetforminBlood GlucoseBone DensityFemaleHumansMiddle AgedWomen's HealthBlood GlucoseMetforminBone mineral densityDiabetes mellitusMetformin

Identifiers

PMID37731055
OpenAlexW4386880318

What OpenQuestion holds

Texttitle and abstract
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.