Use of the first-line antidiabetic medication metformin may be linked to a lower risk of requiring total knee and total hip replacement surgery for patients with type 2 diabetes, according to an overview of a recent report published in HealthDay. In the new study—published by Zhu et al in the Canadian Medical Association Journal—investigators evaluated 20,347 patients who took metformin and an equal number of patients who did not take the medication, and discovered that patients who had been treated with metformin demonstrated a significantly lower risk of requiring joint replacement surgery. Further analyses supported the results of the initial study, suggesting that the medication may be effective at preventing or delaying the progression of osteoarthritis in this cohort—though the investigators noted that randomized, controlled clinical trials may be needed to evaluate the extent of the benefits of metformin for patients with osteoarthritis.