# Mayo Clinic: GLP-1 drugs linked to 31% lower diabetes risk than metformin in observational study

- Published: 2026-11-10 13:06 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: GLP-1 receptor agonists, metformin comparison, prediabetes and obesity, type 2 diabetes risk, TriNetX database, retrospective observational study, semaglutide tirzepatide, AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-67c14fc4f11ef9c881bb8eb5_mayo_clinic_glp/

**A retrospective analysis of 256,492 adults with prediabetes and obesity found less type 2 diabetes on GLP-1 agonists than on metformin. The study is not randomized.**

![Mayo Clinic: GLP-1 drugs linked to 31% lower diabetes risk than metformin in observational study](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/946fcf3faec1d727.webp)
*ad-hoc-news.de*

A team led by Vinicius de Sousa Barzon Serra at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, reported that GLP-1 receptor agonists were associated with a 31% lower risk of type 2 diabetes than metformin in adults with both prediabetes and obesity, according to ad-hoc-news.de [1]. The results were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2026, held 6–9 November 2026 in Chicago [1]. The drugs analyzed were semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide and dulaglutide [1].

## Cohort and design

The analysis used the TriNetX database and covered 256,492 adults with documented prediabetes and obesity from 104 institutions, for the period 2010 to 2023 [1]. The mean age was 52 years, 76% of participants were women, and mean follow-up was about three years [1]. About half of the patients in the GLP-1 group took one of the four named drugs, and the researchers analyzed them together as a drug class [1].

The authors state that this is a retrospective, non-randomized observational study, abstract MDP1524, which has not undergone formal peer review [1]. They note that causal relationships cannot be directly derived from these preliminary data [1].

## Glycemia, mortality and cardiovascular events

In the GLP-1 group, the chance of returning to normal blood glucose values was about 50% higher, or about 1.5 times, than in the metformin comparison group [1]. All-cause mortality was 41% lower [1].

Cardiovascular events were also less frequent in the GLP-1 group: heart failure by 25%, stroke by 20%, myocardial infarction by 15%, and atrial fibrillation by 8% [1].

## Context

The American Heart Association points out that nearly 40% of adults in the US have prediabetes, and up to 10% of them develop manifest type 2 diabetes each year [1]. Mayo Clinic states that metformin remains first-line therapy for prediabetes, describing it as safe, inexpensive and proven over decades [1]. It also states that lifestyle changes remain the basis of any prevention [1].

## Sources

1. [ad-hoc-news.de](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/wissenschaft/praediabetes-und-adipositas-glp-1-medikamente-senken-diabetesrisiko-um-31-prozent/70483238)

---

Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-67c14fc4f11ef9c881bb8eb5_mayo_clinic_glp/