Anti-aging effects of metformin: impact on signs of aging

Metformin is a synthetic biguanide, a first-line drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In addition, metformin can affect the main factors of aging, which underlie many age-related diseases in humans. The aim: based on the analysis of scientific literature, to investigate the mechanisms of the effect of metformin on signs of aging. Materials and methods. A search and analysis of full-text articles in the PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus databases was conducted. The search was conducted using the key terms “metformin”, “aging” and “anti-aging”. The search included randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses and covered English- and Ukrainian-language publications over the past 15 years (from January 2010 to January 2025). Results. It has been established that metformin can affect all signs of aging, such as: genomic instability, telomere depletion (erasure), epigenetic changes, loss of proteostasis, deregulation of nutrient uptake, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell depletion, changes in intercellular communication, and others. Conclusions: Metformin can affect the main factors of aging that underlie many age-related diseases and clinical manifestations and signs of aging and demonstrates a promising perspective for clinical application. A better understanding of the mechanisms of metformin’s influence on these factors will facilitate the development of new and effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of aging and aging-related diseases.