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Long COVID—or new-onset symptoms or worsening health conditions after SARS-CoV-2 infection—can lower quality of life. Finding a way to prevent it would be a welcome relief for those worried about the long-term effects of the viral infection.

A study published in the Journal of Medical Virology finds that U.S. COVID-19 patients prescribed metformin, a medication that treats prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, within six days of COVID-19 infection were less likely to develop long COVID or die.

"Metformin prescription within the week following documented SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a 53% reduction in LC/D [long COVID or death] over six months in this primarily omicron-infected sample," wrote the authors, led by researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Using electronic health records, the scientists conducted a target trial emulation in COVID-infected participants. They compared 248 people who received a new metformin prescription within six days of diagnosis with the same number of controls prescribed the experimental treatments fluvoxamine, fluticasone, ivermectin or montelukast within that same time frame.

Half of the metformin cohort and more than half (52%) of the control group were infected with the omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant.

5 percentage points for metformin).

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