Use of Sulfonylureas may increase risk of dementia among diabetes patients

Che-Yuan Wu BSc explained the findings in the study entitled “Association of sulfonylureas with the risk of dementia: A population-based cohort study”.

It is already known that Sulfonylureas are oral glucose-lowering medications. These are the second-line therapy for type 2 diabetes. There is mixed evidence available relating them to cognitive decline.

In the present study, researchers determined whether sulfonylurea use is associated with a differential risk of dementia compared with a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitor. Researchers used administrative data from residents in Ontario, Canada, adults aged ≥66 years who were new users of a sulfonylurea or a DPP4 inhibitor from June 14, 2011, to March 31, 2021.

The key points of the study are:

• Among 107,806 DPP4 inhibitor new users and 37,030 sulfonylurea new users, sulfonylureas were associated with high dementia risk than DPP4 inhibitors.
• The mean follow-up duration was 4.82 years.
• Glyburide had a higher risk of dementia compared to gliclazide.

Concluding further, they said the New use of sulfonylurea, especially glyburide, increases dementia risk compared with the new use of a DPP4 inhibitor in older adults with a history of diabetes.

We found a 9% higher dementia risk associated with sulfonylurea use compared with the use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitor.

Further reading:

https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.18397