Browse the corpus

HbA BACKGROUND: Long-term glycemic control reduces retinopathy risk, but transient worsening can occur with glucose control intensification. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) lower glucose, but the long-term impact on retinopathy is unknown. GLP-1RA cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) provide long-term follow-up, allowing examination of retinopathy outcomes. PURPOSE: To examine the associations between retinopathy, HbA1c, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and weight in GLP-1RA CVOTs. DATA SOURCES: Systematic review identified six placebo-controlled GLP-1RA CVOTs reporting prespecified retinopathy outcomes. STUDY SELECTION: Published trial reports were used as the primary data sources. DATA EXTRACTION: HbA1c, SBP, and weight data throughout follow-up by treatment group were extracted. DATA SYNTHESIS: Random-effects model meta-analysis showed no association between GLP-1RA treatment and retinopathy (odds ratio [OR] 1.10; 95% CI 0.93, 1.30), with high heterogeneity between studies (I 2 = 52.2%; Q statistic P = 0.063). Univariate meta-regression showed an association between retinopathy and average HbA1c reduction during the overall follow-up (slope = 0.77, P = 0.007), but no relationship for SBP or weight. Sensitivity analyses for HbA1c showed a relationship at 3 months (P = 0.006) and 1 year (P = 0.002). A 0.1% (1.09 mmol/mol) increase in HbA1c reduction was associated with 6%, 14%, or 8% increased Ln(OR) for retinopathy at the 3-month, 1-year, and overall follow-up, respectively. LIMITATIONS: CVOTs were not powered to assess retinopathy outcomes and differed in retinopathy-related criteria and methodology. The median follow-up of 3.4 years is short compared with the onset of retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS: HbA1c reduction was significantly associated with increased retinopathy risk in meta-regression for GLP-1RA CVOTs. The magnitude of HbA1c reduction was correlated with retinopathy risk in people with diabetes and additional cardiovascular risk factors, but the long-term impact of improved glycemic control on retinopathy was unmeasured in these studies. Retinopathy status should be assessed when intensifying glucose-lowering therapy.

HbA OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the dual sodium-glucose cotransporter 1 and 2 inhibitor sotagliflozin compared with placebo when combined with optimized insulin in adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In a double-blind, 52-week, international phase 3 trial, adults with T1D were randomized to placebo (n = 258) or once-daily oral sotagliflozin 200 mg (n = 261) or 400 mg (n = 263) after 6 weeks of insulin optimization. The primary outcome was change in HbA1c from baseline to 24 weeks. The first secondary end point was a composite of the proportion of patients with HbA1c <7.0%, no episode of severe hypoglycemia, and no episode of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at week 24. Fasting glucose, weight, insulin dose, and safety end points were assessed through 52 weeks. RESULTS: At 24 weeks, placebo-adjusted changes in HbA1c from baseline (7.8%) were -0.37% and -0.35% with sotagliflozin 200 and 400 mg, respectively (P < 0.001), and differences were maintained at 52 weeks. At 52 weeks, greater proportions of sotagliflozin-treated patients (200 mg: 25.67%; 400 mg: 26.62%) than placebo-treated patients (14.34%; P ≤ 0.001) met the composite end point, and sotagliflozin 400 mg reduced fasting plasma glucose (-0.87 mmol/L; P = 0.008), weight (-2.92 kg; P < 0.001), and total daily insulin dose (-8.2%; P = 0.001). In a 24-week continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) substudy, postprandial glucose decreased (P ≤ 0.009) and CGM demonstrated up to 3 h more time in the target range of 3.9-10.0 mmol/L with sotagliflozin. Treatment satisfaction increased and diabetes distress decreased with sotagliflozin (P < 0.05 vs. placebo). The frequency of documented hypoglycemia was lower with sotagliflozin, and severe hypoglycemia occurred by week 52 in 13 patients (5.0%), 13 patients (5.0%), and 6 patients (2.3%) treated with placebo and sotagliflozin 200 and 400 mg, respectively. DKA occurred in 0 of 258 patients, 6 of 261 patients (2.3%), and 9 of 263 patients (3.4%) in these respective groups. CONCLUSIONS: In a 1-year study, sotagliflozin was associated with statistically significant HbA1c reductions. More episodes of DKA and fewer episodes of documented and severe hypoglycemia were observed in patients using sotagliflozin relative to those receiving placebo (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02421510).