Two medication classes reduced cardiovascular and liver events in people with type 2 diabetes, suggests study

GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) and SGLT-2 inhibitors lower the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attacks and severe liver complications compared to other diabetes treatments, according to data being presented Sunday at ENDO 2024, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Boston, Mass.

“Before this study, there was limited information about how these specific diabetes medications work in patients with both type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD),” said Alexander Kutz, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., a research fellow in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. “Our study shows that GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors are more beneficial in preventing heart-related events compared to another group of drugs such as dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP-4 inhibitors), and GLP-1s also help reduce severe liver events.”

The researchers reviewed Medicare data documented from 2013 to 2020 and a large U.S. health insurance database from 2013 to 2022. They performed two analyses, including adults with type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease who started GLP-1s, SGLT-2 inhibitors, or DPP-4is.

They analyzed the risk for acute heart attack, ischemic stroke, hospitalization for heart failure, or all-cause mortality. They also examined the incidence of serious liver events.