SGLT2i Use Linked to Lower Risk for Neurodegenerative Disease in T2DM

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with type 2 diabetes, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) use is associated with reduced risks for incident dementia and Parkinson disease (PD), according to a study published online Sept. 18 in Neurology.

Hae Kyung Kim, M.D., from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues examined the association of SGLT2i use with risks for incident dementia and PD in a retrospective cohort study of 1,348,362 participants (aged 40 years and older) with type 2 diabetes who started antidiabetic drugs from 2014 to 2019. A cohort of 358,862 participants was included after propensity score matching (1:1 ratio for SGLT2i to other oral antidiabetic drugs [OADs]).

The researchers identified 6,837 incident dementia or PD events. In terms of the individual end points, SGLT2i use was associated with a reduced risk for Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and PD (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.81, 0.69, and 0.80, respectively), with a six-month drug use lag period. Compared with use of other OADs, SGLT2i use was also associated with a reduced risk for all-cause dementia and for all-cause dementia and PD (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.79 and 0.78, respectively). Sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index, diabetic complications, comorbidities, and medications did not affect the association between SGLT2i use and the reduced risk for neurodegenerative disease. Results were generally consistent in a sensitivity analysis further adjusting for bioclinical variables from health screening tests.

"These findings suggest that SGLT2is may offer neurologic benefits among patients with type 2 diabetes, although additional studies are required to validate the long-term stability of these observations," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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