Metformin for asthma control in children who are overweight or obese
Tests metformin against a placebo in overweight or obese children with asthma.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Prof Ibrahim Janahi
- Where
- Doha, QatarSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Metformin Treatment for Children With Obesity-associated Asthma
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- Phase
- Phase 3
- People taking part
- 182 people, planned
- Started
- Jun 2026
- Expected to end
- Mar 2028
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Metfomin
- Placebo
- Record updated
- 3 June 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for overweight or obese children aged 10-17 with asthma that is not well controlled. They would take metformin or a placebo on top of their usual asthma treatment.
- Age
- 10 to 17 years
- Sex
- Boys and girls
- Disease stage
- Mild persistent, moderate persistent or severe asthma, diagnosed in the 6 months before joining, with an ACT score below 20. Overweight or obese (BMI at or above the 85th percentile for age and sex). Living in Qatar.
- Earlier treatment
- Must have been on standard asthma treatment for at least the last 6 months. Must not have taken metformin or GLP1 medication in the 3 months before joining. Must not be in another interventional study.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Other long-term lung disease that is not asthma
- Syndromic disorders such as Down's syndrome or Turner's syndrome
- Type 1 diabetes
- Ongoing treatment for cancer
- Kidney complications
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 21 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Participant who are capable of giving assent and parentral consent
- Male/Female participant aged between10-17 years old,
- overweight/obese children (Overweight and obesity are defined as BMI equal and above the 85th percentile, and BMI above the 95th percentile for age and sex, respectively)
- Diagnosed with mild persistent, moderate persistent /severe asthma based on GINA guidelines within the 6 months prior to the recruitment date and having ACT score < 20, residing in Qatar
- Partcipants on standard asthma therapy for at least the last 6 months prior to the recruitment
- Participant who are currently not taking part in any other interventional study
Who cannot take part
- Symptomatic or previously symptomatic congenital heart disease
- Taking metformin or GLP1 medication less than 3 months of the recruitment date
- Non-asthma chronic lung disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Syndromic disorders (e.g. Down's syndrome, Turner's syndrome)
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Swallowing disorders
- Ongoing treatment for cancer
- Children diagnosed with type-1 diabetes
- Broncho-pulmonary dysplasia
- Inborn errors of metabolism
- Craniofacial abnormalities
- Primary thoracic cage abnormalities
- Secondary endocrinopathies causing obesity
- Renal complications
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 10 and 17 years old?
Where in Qatar
- Sidra MedicineDoha, QatarContact: Ibrahim Janahi, MD, FCCP, FRCPCHNo longer taking part
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if metformin can improve asthma control in overweight and obese children with mild, moderate, or severe asthma. It will also evaluate the safety and metabolic effects of metformin in this population. The main questions the study aims to answer are:
Read full original descriptionShow less
1) Does metformin improve asthma control, as measured by the Asthma Control Test (ACT) score? 2) Does metformin improve lung function, reduce asthma exacerbations, and improve metabolic and inflammatory markers in overweight/obese children with asthma? Researchers will compare metformin with a placebo (a look-alike substance that contains no active drug) to see if metformin improves asthma outcomes in overweight/obese children with asthma. Participants will take either metformin or a placebo in addition to their standard asthma treatment during the study period. They will attend scheduled clinic visits for asthma assessments, lung function testing, and safety monitoring. Blood, stool, and saliva samples, along with clinical information, will be collected from participants to assess asthma control, and markers related to metabolism and inflammation. Participants will also complete asthma control questionnaires and report medication use and asthma symptoms throughout the study period.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Metformin armExisting treatment, for comparison
Metformin tablets (Metformin XR, extended release 500 mg, oral tablet, active ingredient: metformin hydrochloride)
Treatment: Metfomin
- Placebo armPlacebo, for comparison
Placebo tablets of similar appearance, size, and color as that of metformin
Treatment: Placebo
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- The Role of Metformin in Asthma Control in Obese/Overweight Children, a Randomized Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial
- Plain-language title
- Metformin for asthma control in children who are overweight or obeseGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 13 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07622290, who can take part
- Record updated
- 3 June 2026