Association between metformin use and disease progression in obese people with knee osteoarthritis: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative-a prospective cohort study.

These data suggest that metformin use may have a beneficial effect on long-term knee joint outcomes in those with knee osteoarthritis and obesity. Randomised controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and determine whether metformin would be a potential disease-modifying drug for knee osteoarthritis with the obese phenotype.