Observational studyMedicine2026
Comparative effectiveness of immediate-release and extended-release metformin on gastrointestinal tolerability, quality of life, and treatment satisfaction: A prospective cohort study.
Observational study in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) side effects from metformin often limit its use and can impact patient quality of life (QoL) and satisfaction. The extended-release (XR) formulation is thought to cause fewer GI adverse events than immediate-release (IR) metformin, potentially improving tolerability, treatment satisfaction, and adherence. To compare metformin IR vs XR in terms of GI tolerability (incidence of GI side effects), patient-reported QoL, and medication satisfaction over 6 months in Saudi patients with type 2 diabetes. In a prospective cohort of 119 newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes (62 on IR, 57 on XR), we tracked GI adverse events using a standardized questionnaire at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Diabetes-specific QoL was measured with the diabetes therapy-related quality of life questionnaire (DTR-QOL), and treatment satisfaction was assessed with the oral hypoglycemic agent questionnaire version 2 (OHA-Q ver. 2). Metformin XR was associated with significantly better GI tolerability. By 6 months, 45.2% of IR patients and only 24.5% of XR patients reported any GI side effect (P <.05). Rates of bothersome symptoms, such as diarrhea, were notably higher in the IR group. Patients on XR reported fewer interruptions of therapy due to GI upset. The DTR-QOL global score improved in both groups (P <.05), but there was no significant difference in total DTR-QOL scores between groups (P = .390). The OHA-Q ver. 2 global score improved in both groups (P <.05), but the XR group had higher scores in domains related to satisfaction (median treatment satisfaction domain score 100 vs 77.78 for IR, P < .05), with a significant difference in OHA-Q ver. 2 global score (92.59 vs 86.31 for IR; P <.05). Metformin XR demonstrated superior GI tolerability, which translated into improved treatment satisfaction compared to IR. While the overall quality of life related to diabetes management improved similarly with both, the XR formulation reduced side effect burden, and the lower daily dosing led to higher patient-reported satisfaction. These findings support the use of metformin XR to enhance tolerability and adherence, potentially leading to improved long-term outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.