Introduction: The study characterizes the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with and without renal impairment and examines the effects of such use on the clinical outcomes of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and glycated hemoglobin (A1c).
Methods: Data from the Practice Fusion electronic health records database from 1 January 2012 through 30 April 2015 were used. Adults with T2D who received serum creatinine laboratory tests and initiated therapy with a GLP-1 RA (N = 3225) or other glucose-lowering agent (GLA) (N = 37,074) were included in the analysis. The GLP-1 RA cohort was matched to cohorts initiating therapy any other GLA, and multivariable analyses examined the association between GLP-1 RA use and changes in eGFR or A1c at 1 year after therapy initiation.
Results: In this study, only 5.7% of patients with an eGFR of < 30 and ≥ 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 and 3.6% of patients with an eGFR of < 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 initiated therapy with a GLP-1 RA. Compared to other GLAs, at 1-year after initiation of therapy the use of a GLP-1 RA was associated with a significantly smaller decline in eGFR (- 0.80 vs. - 1.03 mL/min/1.73 m2; P = 0.0005), a significantly smaller likelihood of having a ≥ 30% reduction in eGFR (2.19 vs. 3.14%; P < 0.0001), and a significantly larger reduction in A1c (- 0.48 vs. - 0.43; P = 0.0064).
Conclusion: In clinical practice, the use of GLP-1 RAs in patients with a higher degree of renal impairment disease was limited. Compared to other GLAs, the use of GLP-1 RAs was associated with a significantly smaller decline in eGFR and a larger reduction in A1c over the 1 year following therapy initiation.
Funding: Eli Lilly and Company.
Keywords: Estimated glomerular filtration rate; Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists; Glycated hemoglobin; Renal impairment.