Cardiovascular outcomes with glucagon-like peptide 1 agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis

Background: According to available research, there have been no head-to-head studies comparing the effect of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors on cardiovascular outcomes among patients with type 2 diabetes not reaching glycemic goal with metformin. Methods: Relevant studies were identified through electronic searches of PubMed and EMBASE published up to January 15, 2020. Efficacy outcomes of interest included the composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or non-fatal stroke, its individual components, all-cause death, and hospitalization for heart failure (HF). Safety outcomes included all suggested side effects of both agents previously reported. Results: Eleven studies, including 94,727 patients were used for the analysis. The risk of composite end point was significantly lower in both groups compared to the control group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85–0.92, p < 0.001). The risk of hospitalization for HF was significantly lower in both groups but the magnitude of the effect was more pronounced in the SGLT-2 inhibitors group (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.60–0.76, p < 0.001) than the GLP-1 agonists group (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.84–0.99, p = 0.03). Patients treated with GLP-1 agonists discontinued trial medications more frequently compared to conventionally treated patients because of serious side effects. Conclusions: Both GLP-1 agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors showed comparable cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the SGLT-2 inhibitors were associated with more pronounced reduction of hospitalization for HF and lower risk of treatment discontinuation than GLP-1 agonists.