SGLT-2 Inhibitors Reduce Risk of Hospitalization Among Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Treatment with sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors significantly reduced risk of hospitalization for heart failure and all-cause mortality, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 2017 Annual Scientific Session.

The researchers studied patients using three approved SGLT-2 therapies, including Farxiga (dapagliflozin; AstraZeneca), Invokana  (canagliflozin; Janssen), and Jardiance (empagliflozin; Boehringer-Ingelheim/Eli Lilly).  Patients taking SGLT-2s were matched with patients taking other glucose-lowering drugs in order to measure comparative efficacy. The researchers gathered data related to hospitalization for heart failure from primary care and hospital records in the United States, Germany, and United Kingdom.

Study results showed that among the 364,828 study participants, hospitalizations for heart failure were lower among the patients taking SGLT-2 therapies, throughout the three study countries. Researchers found that during the study period there were 961 hospitalizations for heart failure with a lower incidence rate in the SGLT-2 group (P < .001).

Additionally, the researchers found that the secondary endpoint of all-cause death was reduced in the SGLT-2 inhibitor group across all three study countries, when compared to the placebo group (P < .001).

The researchers also noted that, despite the study being split between three countries, heterogeneity across the countries was not significant. They suggest that this lack of heterogeneity indicates that the cardiovascular benefits observed in the study are likely class-related. They also noted that these results should translate to real-world usages of SGLT-2 inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes and minor cardiovascular risks.—David Costill