Safety of antidiabetes medications: an update

Adverse iatrogenic effects of especial relevance for antidiabetes medications include hypoglycemic episodes, major adverse cardiovascular (CV) events, cancer, bone fractures, pancreatic effects, genital/urinary tract infections, and weight gain. Here, recent clinical studies addressing safety profiles of antidiabetes medications are reviewed. On balance, new prospective and population-based studies continue to indicate that the benefits of improved glucose control outweigh the risks associated with antidiabetes medications in most patients with type 2 diabetes.