Unlicensed use of metformin in children and adolescents in the UK

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology

Volumn 73, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 135-139

  Hsia, Yingfen ^a   Dawoud, Dalia ^a,b   Sutcliffe, Alastair G ^c   Viner, Russell M ^c   Kinra, Sanjay ^d   Wong, Ian C K ^a,c,e  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^b CAIRO UNIVERSITY   (Egypt)

^c UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^d LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE   (United Kingdom)

^e UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG   (Hong Kong)

Author keywords

Adolescents; Children; Diabetes; Metformin; Obesity; Polycystic ovary syndrome

Indexed keywords

METFORMIN;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ARTICLE; CHILD; DIABETES MELLITUS; DRUG USE; FEMALE; HUMAN; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; OBESITY; OVARY POLYCYSTIC DISEASE; POPULATION RESEARCH; PRESCHOOL CHILD; PRESCRIPTION; PREVALENCE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SCHOOL CHILD; UNITED KINGDOM;

ADOLESCENT; CHILD; CHILD, PRESCHOOL; COHORT STUDIES; DIABETES MELLITUS; DRUG PRESCRIPTIONS; DRUG UTILIZATION; FEMALE; GREAT BRITAIN; HUMANS; HYPOGLYCEMIC AGENTS; INFANT; LEGISLATION, DRUG; MALE; METFORMIN; OBESITY; OFF-LABEL USE; PHYSICIAN'S PRACTICE PATTERNS; POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME; RETROSPECTIVE STUDIES;

EID: 83155176037     PISSN: 03065251     EISSN: 13652125     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2011.04063.x     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. Hsia Y, Neubert AC, Rani F, Viner RM, Hindmarsh PC, Wong IC. An increase in the prevalence of type 1 and 2 diabetes in children and adolescents: results from prescription data from a UK general practice database. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2009; 67: 242-9.
2. Harwood K, Vuguin P, DiMartino-Nardi J. Current approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome in youth. Horm Res 2007; 68: 209-17.
3. Ehrmann DA. Polycystic ovary syndrome. N Engl J Med 2005; 352: 1223-36.
4. Mastorakos G, Lambrinoudaki I, Creatsas G. Polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescents: current and future treatment options. Paediatr Drugs 2006; 8: 311-8.
5. Moll E, Bossuyt PM, Korevaar JC, Lambalk CB, van der Veen F. Effect of clomifene citrate plus metformin and clomifene citrate plus placebo on induction of ovulation in women with newly diagnosed polycystic ovary syndrome: randomised double blind clinical trial. BMJ 2006; 332: 1485.
6. Legro RS, Barnhart HX, Schlaff WD, Carr BR, Diamond MP, Carson SA, Steinkampf MP, Coutifaris C, McGovern PG, Cataldo NA, Gosman GG, Nestler JE, Giudice LC, Leppert PC, Myers ER. Cooperative Multicenter Reproductive Medicine Network. Clomiphene, metformin, or both for infertility in the polycystic ovary syndrome. N Engl J Med 2007; 356: 551-66.
7. Ibáñez L, Ferrer A, Ong K, Amin R, Dunger D, de Zegher F. Insulin sensitization early after menarche prevents progression from precocious pubarche to polycystic ovary syndrome. J Pediatr 2004; 144: 23-9.
8. Bridger T, MacDonald S, Baltzer F, Rodd C. Randomized placebo-controlled trial of metformin for adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006; 160: 241-6.
9. De Leo V, Musacchio MC, Morgante G, Piomboni P, Petraglia F. Metformin treatment is effective in obese teenage girls with PCOS. Hum Reprod 2006; 21: 2252-6.
10. Hoeger K, Davidson K, Kochman L, Cherry T, Kopin L, Guzick DS. The impact of metformin, oral contraceptives, and lifestyle modification on polycystic ovary syndrome in obese adolescent women in two randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008; 93: 4299-306.
11. Wald AB, Uli NK. Pharmacotherapy in paediatric obesity: current agents and future directs. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 2009; 10: 205-14.
12. Freemark M. Pharmacotherapy of childhood obesity: an evidence-based, conceptual approach. Diabetes Care 2007; 30: 395-402.
13. Rogovik AL, Chanoine JP, Goldman RD. Pharmacotherapy and weight-loss supplements for treatment of paediatric obesity. Drugs 2010; 70: 335-46.
14. Park MH, Kinra S, Ward KJ, White B, Viner RM. Metformin for obesity in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Diabetes Care 2009; 32: 1743-5.
15. Joint Formulary Committee. British National Formulary For Children, 59 edn. London: British Medical Association and Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 2009.
16. Joint Formulary Committee. British National Formulary, 59 edn. London: British Medical Association and Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 2009.
17. Wong IC, Murray ML. The potential of UK clinical databases in enhancing paediatric medication research. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2005; 59: 750-5.
18. Stergachis A, Saunders KW, Davis RL. Examples of automated databases. In: Textbook of Pharmacoepidemiology, 4 edn. ed. Strom BL. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Son Ltd, 2006; 173-214.
19. European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association. ATC- Anatomical classification. Available at (last accessed June 2011).
20. th Revision. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 1992; Available at (last accessed June 2011).
21. Murray ML, Thompson M, Santosh PJ, Wong IC. Effects of the Committee on Safety of Medicines advice on antidepressant prescribing to children and adolescents in the UK. Drug Saf 2005; 28: 1151-7.
22. Hsia Y, Neubert A, Sturkenboom MC, Murray ML, Verhamme KM, Sen F, Giaquinto C, Ceci A, Wong IC, TEDDY Network of Excellence. Antiepileptic drug prescribing comparison in three European countries. Epilepsia 2010; 51: 789-96.
23. Neubert A, Verhamme K, Murray ML, Picelli G, Hsia Y, Sen FE, Giaquinto C, Ceci A, Sturkenboom M, Wong IC, TEDDY Network of Excellence. The prescribing of analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in paediatric primary care in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands. Pharmacol Res 2010; 62: 243-8.
24. Rose K, Stotter H. ICH E11: clinical investigation of medicinal products in the paediatric population. In: Guide to Paediatric Clinical Research, eds Rose K, van den Anker JN. Basel: Karger, 2007; 33-7.
25. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999-2000. JAMA 2002; 288: 1728-32.
26. Viner RM, Hsia YF, Neubert AC, Wong IC. Rise in anti-obesity drug prescribing in children and adolescents in the UK: a population-based study. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2009; 68: 844-51.
27. European Medicines Agency (EMEA). Questions and answers on the suspension of medicines containing sibutramine. Available at (last accessed June 2011).
28. Avenell A, Broom J, Brown TJ, Poobalan A, Aucott L, Stearns SC, Smith WCS, Jung RT, Campbell MK, Grant AM. Systematic review of the long-term effects and economic consequences of treatments for obesity and implications for health improvement. Health Technol Assess 2004; 8: iii-iv, 1-182.