Metformin showed no clear walking advantage over placebo in peripheral artery disease
A trial in adults without diabetes found no clear benefit on walking tests; stomach upset was reported more often with metformin.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
For adults with peripheral artery disease who did not have diabetes, the trial found no statistically clear walking advantage from metformin over placebo. Other measures also showed no clear improvement. The uncertainty range includes both worse and better walking performance, so the findings do not establish a benefit for this use.
Funding restrictions kept enrollment below the target, and follow-up was incomplete for some participants. This abstract-based account applies to the studied population with peripheral artery disease and without diabetes.
What researchers found
Adjusted difference in change in 6-minute walking distance
Metformin compared with placebo at 6 months. The interval allows either less or more walking distance with metformin; the difference was not statistically significant.
What walking tests showed
Researchers measured how far participants could walk during a timed test. Treadmill performance, reported walking difficulties, physical functioning and an artery function measure also showed no statistically clear benefit with metformin.
Symptoms during the trial
Indigestion or stomach upset was more common in the metformin group, while headaches were more common with placebo. Cardiovascular events were the leading serious events reported; these data alone do not establish a causal safety difference.
The original publication
Metformin to Improve Walking Performance in Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease: The PERMET Randomized Clinical Trial.
McDermott MM, Domanchuk KJ, Tian L et al.
JAMA · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41205146
- Record checked
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