Introduction:
Dipeptidyl-peptidiase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors, a new type of oral hypoglycemic agents, have been widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). However, recent studies showed that the use of DPP4 inhibitors, especially saxagliptin, could be associated with an increased risk of heart failure (HF).
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective case-crossover study by identifying DM patients aged 20 years and above hospitalized for HF between 2009 and 2011 from Taiwan National Health Insurance Database. Diagnosis codes from inpatient claims databases were used to ascertain the index date of hospitalization. For each patient, we defined case period as 1 to 30 days before the index date and control period as 91 to 120 days before the index date. The use of DPP4 inhibitors during the case and control periods were identified from the pharmacy claims database. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by a conditional logistic regression model.
Results:
A total of 47,506 patients hospitalized for HF (48.2% mean and 51.8% women) was included in the analysis (mean age: 72.7±12.4 years). Among them, 2,874 patients (6.05%) used sitagliptin in the case period, and 2,318 (4.88%) did in the control period. Use of other DPP4 inhibitors, i.e., saxagliptin and vildagliptin, was rare. The analysis of the discordant medication in the two periods showed that sitagliptin use was associated with an increased risk of HF (OR: 2.85, 95% CI: 2.46-3.30). Additional analyses using different time frames as the control period showed similar results. In contrast, there was no increased risk for HF in the use of sulfonylureas or metformin.
Conclusions:
The nationwide case-crossover study demonstrated that sitagliptin was associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for HF. Further studies are needed to examine whether the potential risk of HF is a class effect of DPP4 inhibitors.
Risk of Heart Failure Hospitalization Associated With Cilostazol in Diabetes: A Nationwide Case–Crossover Study
