Treatment effect heterogeneity following type 2 diabetes treatment with GLP1-receptor agonists and SGLT2-inhibitors: a systematic review.

Young KG., McInnes EH., Massey RJ., Kahkoska AR., Pilla SJ., Raghavan S., Stanislawski MA., Tobias DK., McGovern AP., Dawed AY., Jones AG., Pearson ER., Dennis JM., ADA/EASD PDMI .

BackgroundA precision medicine approach in type 2 diabetes requires the identification of clinical and biological features that are reproducibly associated with differences in clinical outcomes with specific anti-hyperglycaemic therapies. Robust evidence of such treatment effect heterogeneity could support more individualized clinical decisions on optimal type 2 diabetes therapy.MethodsWe performed a pre-registered systematic review of meta-analysis studies, randomized control trials, and observational studies evaluating clinical and biological features associated with heterogenous treatment effects for SGLT2-inhibitor and GLP1-receptor agonist therapies, considering glycaemic, cardiovascular, and renal outcomes. After screening 5,686 studies, we included 101 studies of SGLT2-inhibitors and 75 studies of GLP1-receptor agonists in the final systematic review.ResultsHere we show that the majority of included papers have methodological limitations precluding robust assessment of treatment effect heterogeneity. For SGLT2-inhibitors, multiple observational studies suggest lower renal function as a predictor of lesser glycaemic response, while markers of reduced insulin secretion predict lesser glycaemic response with GLP1-receptor agonists. For both therapies, multiple post-hoc analyses of randomized control trials (including trial meta-analysis) identify minimal clinically relevant treatment effect heterogeneity for cardiovascular and renal outcomes.ConclusionsCurrent evidence on treatment effect heterogeneity for SGLT2-inhibitor and GLP1-receptor agonist therapies is limited, likely reflecting the methodological limitations of published studies. Robust and appropriately powered studies are required to understand type 2 diabetes treatment effect heterogeneity and evaluate the potential for precision medicine to inform future clinical care.

DOI

10.1038/s43856-023-00359-w

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2023-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

3

Addresses

Exeter Centre of Excellence in Diabetes (EXCEED), University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK.

Keywords

ADA/EASD PDMI

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