A cheap new drug could cut the risk of heart disease for people with diabetes, according to a new worldwide scientific study.
Researchers based in Scotland found a drug called metformin could help improve the cardiovascular and metabolic health of adults with longstanding type 1 diabetes.
Diabetics have a much higher chance of developing heart disease and it is the most common cause of early death for those with the condition. Type 1 is not caused by lifestyle.
Professor John Petrie, from the University of Glasgow's Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, said: "The results from this trial are significant because currently cardiovascular disease is a major cause of reduced life expectancy in type 1 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease rates are more than double those of the background population.
"Type 1 diabetes is not caused by lifestyle issues. Insulin therapy is required to control glucose and reduce complications but can cause weight gain which in turn is associated with high cholesterol.
"This may be one of the reasons that cardiovascular complications remain such a problem for people with type 1 diabetes."
The main objective of the Removal trial was to test if up to three years of treatment with the drug reduced the risk of heart disease in higher-risk adults over 40 with longstanding type 1 diabetes.
The drug is already used as an inexpensive first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes.
In Scotland, only 15 per cent of adults with type 1 diabetes have ever received metformin, and only 8% are taking it at any one time.
Karen Addington, UK chief executive of the type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, said: We are committed to eradicating type 1 diabetes and its complications.
"Findings such as these are crucial in developing ways of using an accessible drug such as metformin to ensure people living with type 1 stay healthy for longer."
Additional reporting by Press Association.
