Diabetes drug could increase lifespan: Study©AFP/Relaxnews // ©AFP/Relaxnews

A new study sheds new light on a diabetes drug that controls glucose, suggesting it could have preventative capabilities and even increase lifespan. A large-scale study conducted by researchers at Cardiff University says that type 2 diabetes patients live longer than people without the disease thanks to surprising benefits of their medication, metformin, which could be expanded for use in non-diabetics.

Murmurs of metformin's attributes had been circulating within the scientific community, and the findings of the Cardiff study not only build on its benefits but are of particular interest due to the massive sample size of 180,000 participants.

Researchers compared survival rates of type 2 diabetes patients taking metformin, a first-line therapy, with those of patients on a less-prescribed diabetes drug called sulphonylurea, known for undesirable side effects such as weight gain and hypoglycemia.