SGLT2 inhibitors lower stroke, mortality risks in AF patients with T2DM

Treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors appears to reduce the risks of stroke, dementia, long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure, and mortality in patients with both AF and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), suggests a recent study.

A total of 339,792 patients with AF and T2DM were included in the analysis. Of these, 32,945 (9.70 percent) were users of SGLT2 inhibitors. Following propensity score matching (PSM), 17,011 patients (mean age 68.4 years) were included in each group based on their use of the study drug.

Over a 3-year follow-up, patients who used SGLT2 inhibitors benefitted from lower risks of stroke (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.830; p<0.001), dementia (adjusted HR, 0.662; p<0.001), long-standing persistent AF (adjusted HR, 0.917; p<0.001), heart failure (adjusted HR, 0.833; p<0.001), and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 0.532; p<0.001).

“SGLT2 inhibitors may be considered as a potential first-line therapy for this population,” the authors said.

This study identified patients with both AF and T2DM from the database of TriNetX, an international electronic medical records. The authors divided the eligible participants into two groups according to their use of SGLT2 inhibitors at a 1:1 distribution through PSM. Then, they calculated the HR for clinical outcomes using multivariate Cox hazards regression model.

“SGLT2 inhibitors enhance cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with T2DM,” the authors said.