Glucose-lowering SGLT2 inhibitors have shown significant promise in reducing the risk of dialysis, transplantation, or death due to kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a recent data analysis.
Investigators pooled data from major trials of SGLT2 inhibitors that reported effects on kidney outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes. The resulting meta-analysis included about 40,000 participants and assessed three SGLT2 inhibitors: canagliflozin, empagliflozin, and dapagliflozin.
The drugs were found to have a significant protective effect. They reduced the risk of dialysis, transplantation, or death due to kidney disease by about 30%. They also reduced the risk of kidney failure by 30% and the risk of acute kidney injury by 25%, reported lead study author Brendon Neuen, M.D., The George Institute for Global Health. In addition, the findings confirm the results of another recent trial of canagliflozin, he wrote.
By some estimates, residents with type 2 diabetes account for about 25% to 34% of the nation’s long-term care population. Kidney failure is a potentially devastating consequence of the disease.
“As more treatment options become available to halt the progression of [kidney disease], it is hoped that fewer will go on to require more invasive and costly interventions such as dialysis and transplantation,” concluded study co-author Meg Jardine, Ph.D.
