Lobeglitazone and the risk of renal progression in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effect of lobeglitazone on renal disease progression in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using longitudinal real-world data.Design Retrospective cohort study.Setting Hospital-based Common Data Model database.Participants A total of 14 712 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus who visited the Diabetes Center of Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital between 2013 and 2019 were identified. A 1:2 propensity score matching was performed to compare patients treated with lobeglitazone plus metformin with those receiving metformin monotherapy, sulfonylurea plus metformin, or a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitor plus metformin.Interventions Treatment with lobeglitazone plus metformin compared with metformin monotherapy, sulfonylurea plus metformin or DPP4 inhibitor plus metformin.Primary outcome measures Renal progression, defined as initiation of renal replacement therapy, a sustained >= 30% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from baseline, or doubling of serum creatinine with a concurrent eGFR <= 45 mL/min/1.73 m & sup2;.Results The HR of renal progression was 0.84 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.21) in the lobeglitazone plus metformin compared with metformin monotherapy, 1.00 (95% CI 0.79 to 1.27) compared with sulfonylurea plus metformin group, 1.10 (95% CI 0.84 to 1.44) compared with DPP4 inhibitor plus metformin group after adjusting for multiple variables. Subgroup analyses demonstrated significant interactions by sex in the comparison with metformin monotherapy (P for interaction=0.0179) and by glycaemic control in the comparisons with sulfonylurea plus metformin (P for interaction=0.0161) and DPP4 inhibitor plus metformin (P for interaction=0.0006), suggesting potential heterogeneity in treatment effects.Conclusions Lobeglitazone showed renal outcomes comparable to those of other antidiabetic medications, with a possible heterogeneity in treatment effects according to sex and glycaemic control.