Metformin combined with acarbose vs. single medicine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis

The present meta-analysis aimed to evaluate metformin combined with acarbose compared with monotherapy with either of the two drugs for type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Relevant trials were retrieved through searching PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and Chongqing VIP information network databases. Heterogeneous and homogeneous data were statistically combined using a random‑ and fixed‑effects model, respectively. For dichotomous and continuous data, the merged effect size was presented as the risk ratio (RR) and weighted mean differences (WMD), respectively, with 95% confidence interval (CI). All included studies were divided into subgroups. A Funnel plot was used to detect publication bias. Review Manager 5.2 software was applied to perform the statistical analyses. Meta‑analysis revealed that compared with metformin monotherapy, combined therapy was significantly more efficacious regarding indexes including the total effective rate, fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood glucose levels at two post‑prandial hours (2HPG) and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c). Similarly, combined therapy showed advantages on indexes including FBG, 2HPG and HbA1c over acarbose therapy after 4 months of treatment. In conclusion, the findings of the present meta‑analysis suggested that combined therapy of metformin and acarbose appears to be more efficacious than metformin or acarbose monotherapy.