Diabetes drug found to raise risk of death and heart disease

Published on Thursday 17 March 2011 15:18

A DIABETES drug used by tens of thousands of Britons significantly increased the risk of heart disease and death, researchers warn today.

A study of more than 800,000 patients found those taking Avandia were 14 per cent more likely to die while on their medication than those on another drug. Avandia patients were respectively 23 per cent and 16 per cent more likely to suffer congestive heart failure or have a heart attack.

Up to 100,000 Britons were on the drug before European safety chiefs took it off the market because of growing concerns about its link to heart disease.

It is unclear how long the effects of the drug last and whether people may still be at risk and it is believed some UK patients may still be taking the medicine.

The latest findings published online in the British Medical Journal add to mounting evidence against Avandia, known medically as rosiglitazone.

The researchers analysed the results of 16 previous studies involving 429,000 on Avandia and 381,000 taking an alternative diabetes drug known as Actos, or pioglitazone. Most patients were aged over 60.

In certain groups of patients the statistically increased risk may lead to 170 excess heart attacks, 649 excess cases of heart failure and 431 excess deaths for every 100,000 patients who receive Avandia rather than Actos.

Both drugs belong to a class called thiazolidinediones and are known to increase the risk of heart failure but it was unclear whether there were clinically important differences in their cardiac safety.

Study leader Dr Yoon Kong Loke, of the University of East Anglia, said: "Avandia is undergoing a phased withdrawal so there may be some people still taking the drug now. If they develop any symptoms of heart disease they should see their doctor at once.

"We don't know yet if stopping taking the drug at once gets rid of the increased risk of heart disease or if the effect lasts over a long period of time.

"It is possible that symptoms may develop years afterwards. These are studies that need to be carried out in the future."

Avandia was launched ten years ago as a new way to reduce blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, it was once one of the best-selling drugs in the world, with annual sales peaking at 3 billion in 2006.

In September the European Medicines Agency suspended the use of Avandia in Europe but it is still available in the US.

The researchers said: "Our findings have important implications.Rosiglitazone is still available on a restricted basis in the United States and Canada.

"However, for patients who need thiazolidinedione treatment, continued use of rosiglitazone may lead to excess heart attacks, heart failure and mortality, compared with pioglitazone."

They also emphasise both Avandia and Actos have been linked with other important safety concerns.

Prof Victor Montori and Dr Nilay Shah, of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, reviewed the findings for the journal.

They said the story "says much about how healthcare has become less about promoting patients' interests, alleviating illness, promoting function and independence, and curing disease, and much more about promoting other interests, including those of the drug industry."