Diabetes Drug Cuts Cardiovascular and Mortality Risk

Pioglitazone treatment for type 2 diabetes may be associated with lower risks for cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality, according to a new study.

For their study, the researchers evaluated pooled data on 31,133 pioglitazone-treated patients with type 2 diabetes and 31,133 patients who were never prescribed pioglitazone. Mean follow-up lasted 2.60 years in the pioglitazone group and 2.69 years in the non-pioglitazone group.
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The researchers determined crude cause-specific mortality rates and estimated association with pioglitazone use with Cox proportional hazards models. Results were adjusted for various factors.

Findings showed that the crude mortality rates for both cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality were lower in the pioglitazone group compared with the non-pioglitazone group. Adjusted HRs for pioglitazone and other anti-diabetic exposure were 0.58 and 0.63 for cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality, respectively.

The researchers also observed a protective effect associated with pioglitazone use for all specific cardiovascular causes.

“This analysis suggests that pioglitazone is associated with a decrease in both cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality,” the researchers concluded. “Results should be interpreted with caution due to the potential for residual confounding in this exploratory analysis. Further studies, specifically designed to test the association between pioglitazone use and patient-focused outcomes, are suggested.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Strongman H, Christopher S, Majak M, et al. Pioglitazone and cause-specific risk of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes: extended analysis from a European multidatabase cohort study [Published online January 20, 2018]. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000481.