SGLT2 inhibitors may protect type 2 diabetes patients from gout: JAMA

Taiwan: A recent study in JAMA Network Open has shown that the use of SGLT2 inhibitors in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients are associated with an 11% lower gout risk compared with the use of DPP4 inhibitors. 

Currently, the use of sodium-glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors is a standard intervention in T2D diabetes patients and in addition also exerts favorable pleiotropic effects to consistently lower blood urate levels. However, to date, no association between SGLT2 inhibitor use and the incidence of gout has been established.

Considering the above, Mu-Chi Chung, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, and colleagues aimed to investigate whether prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors are associated with lower gout incidence in patients with T2DM in a cohort study.

For this purpose, the researchers retrospectively analyzed all patients with incident T2DM in Taiwan National Health Institution databases between May 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. As a comparator, patients using dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors were included. A total of 47 905 individuals receiving an SGLT2 inhibitor and 183 303 receiving a DPP4 inhibitor were evaluated, along with 47 405 pairs of patients using an SGLT2 inhibitor or DPP4 inhibitor in 1:1 propensity score-matched analyses.