Risk of overall mortality and cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes on dual drug therapy including metformin: A large database study from the Cleveland Clinic

J Diabetes. 2016 Mar;8(2):279-85. doi: 10.1111/1753-0407.12301. Epub 2015 Jun 29.

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of overall mortality, coronary artery disease (CAD), and congestive heart failure (CHF) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with metformin (MF) and an additional antidiabetic agent.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using an academic health center enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) system to identify 13,185 adult patients (>18 years) with T2DM from January 2008 to June 2013 and received a prescription for MF in combination with a sulfonylurea (SU; n = 9419), thiazolidinedione (TZD; n = 1846), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i; n = 1487), or a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1a; n = 433). Multivariate Cox models with propensity analysis were used to compare cohorts, with MF+SU serving as the comparator group.

Results: The mean (±SD) age was 60.6 ± 12.6 years, with 54.6% male and 75.8% Caucasians. The median follow-up was 4 years. There were 1077 deaths, 1733 CAD events, and 528 CHF events in 55,100 person-years of follow-up. A higher risk of CHF was observed with MF+DPP-4i use (hazard ratio [HR] 1.104; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.17; P = 0.001). A trend towards improved overall survival for users of MF+TZD (HR 0.86; 95% CI 0.74-1.0; P = 0.05) and MF+GLP-1a (HR 0.569; 95% CI 0.30-1.07; P = 0.08) was observed. No significant differences in the risk of CAD were identified.

Conclusions: Consistent with recent studies, our results raise concern for an increased risk of CHF with use of DPP-4i.

Keywords: congestive heart failure; dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors; mortality; sulfonylureas; thiazolidinediones; 二肽基肽酶-4抑制剂; 充血性心力衰竭; 噻唑烷二酮类; 死亡率; 磺酰脲类.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Coronary Artery Disease / chemically induced
  • Coronary Artery Disease / mortality*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / drug therapy*
  • Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors / adverse effects
  • Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Drug Therapy, Combination / adverse effects
  • Female
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / adverse effects
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / therapeutic use
  • Heart Failure / chemically induced
  • Heart Failure / mortality*
  • Humans
  • Hypoglycemic Agents / adverse effects
  • Hypoglycemic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Metformin / therapeutic use*
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care / methods
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Peptide Fragments / adverse effects
  • Peptide Fragments / therapeutic use
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Sulfonylurea Compounds / adverse effects
  • Sulfonylurea Compounds / therapeutic use
  • Survival Rate
  • Thiazolidinediones / adverse effects
  • Thiazolidinediones / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors
  • Hypoglycemic Agents
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Sulfonylurea Compounds
  • Thiazolidinediones
  • glucagon-like peptide 1 (7-36)amide
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1
  • Metformin
  • 2,4-thiazolidinedione