TABLE 2.
Baseline characteristics of the study population (biochemical measures and other drug use at baseline)
| Pre‐matched | Matched | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SGLT2 inhibitor cohort | DPP‐4 inhibitor cohort | SMD | SGLT2 inhibitor cohort | DPP‐4 inhibitor cohort | SMD | |
| Biochemical measures, mean (SD) | ||||||
| HbA1c, mmol/mol or % | 78.7 (15.2) or 9.35 (1.61) | 73 (14.7) or 8.83 (1.56) | 0.326 | 76.3 (14.8) or 9.13 (1.57) | 76.5 (15) or 9.15 (1.59) | 0.009 |
| LDL cholesterol, mmol/L | 95.63 (41.13) | 89.74 (38.30) | 0.149 | 96.45 (40.71) | 96.14 (41.45) | 0.007 |
| HDL cholesterol, mmol/L | 43.22 (11.38) | 45.69 (12.79) | 0.204 | 43.79 (11.29) | 43.86 (11.58) | 0.006 |
| TC, mmol/L | 171.55 (43.76) | 166.68 (42.36) | 0.114 | 172.38 (43.27) | 172.10 (44.01) | 0.006 |
| Triglycerides, mmol/L | 209.70 (126.76) | 186.02 (109.12) | 0.200 | 203.34 (120.36) | 204.11 (121.09) | 0.006 |
| Creatinine, μmol/L | 73.29 (17.05) | 88.45 (35.74) | 0.542 | 74.12 (17.90) | 74.39 (16.92) | 0.015 |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 90.66 (16.55) | 76.03 (24.09) | 0.708 | 89.35 (16.84) | 89.16 (16.82) | 0.012 |
| Uric acid level categories, n (%) | 0.031 | 0.01 | ||||
| Low (<148.71 μmol/l or 2.5 mg/dL for men; <89.22 μmol/l or 1.5 mg/dL for women) | 6 (0.04) | 7 (0.02) | 4 (0.05) | 2 (0.02) | ||
| Normal (148.71‐413.39 μmol/l or 2.5‐7.0 mg/dL for men; 89.22‐356.91 μmol/l or 1.5‐6.0 mg/dL for women) | 1618 (11.88) | 3066 (10.42) | 943 (10.90) | 991 (11.46) | ||
| High (≥416.39 μmol/l or 7.0 mg/dL for men; ≥ 356.91 μmol/l or 6.0 mg/dL for women) | 380 (2.79) | 1111 (3.78) | 245 (2.83) | 213 (2.46) | ||
| Missing | 11 613 (85.28) | 25 242 (85.78) | 7458 (86.22) | 7444 (86.06) | ||
| Use of other antidiabetic drugs | ||||||
| Number of antidiabetic substances at index, mean (SD) | 2.64 | 2.30 | 0.436 | 2.34 (0.70) | 2.37 (0.71) | 0.052 |
| Naïve new use of antidiabetic drugs, n (%) | 224 (1.65) | 1177 (4.00) | 0.143 | 212 (2.45) | 205 (2.37) | 0.005 |
| Initiation of the study drug as monotherapy, n (%) | 163 (1.20) | 960 (3.26) | 0.140 | 155 (1.79) | 149 (1.72) | 0.005 |
| Dual therapy with metformin, n (%) | 3918 (28.77) | 11 347 (38.56) | 0.208 | 3761 (43.50) | 3568 (41.27) | 0.045 |
| Concomitant initiation or current use of other antidiabetic drugs, n (%) | ||||||
| Any other antidiabetic medications | 11 309 (83.05) | 23 088 (78.46) | 0.117 | 7302 (84.46) | 7302 (84.46) | 0 |
| Metformin | 11 309 (83.05) | 23 088 (78.46) | 0.117 | 7302 (84.46) | 7302 (84.46) | 0 |
| Sulphonylureas, 2nd generation | 4902 (36.00) | 11 567 (39.31) | 0.068 | 3065 (35.45) | 3101 (35.87) | 0.009 |
| GLP‐1RAs | 2398 (17.61) | 184 (0.63) | 0.618 | 65 (0.75) | 165 (1.91) | 0.101 |
| Thiazolidinediones | 1730 (12.70) | 4112 (13.97) | 0.037 | 1058 (12.24) | 1080 (12.49) | 0.008 |
| Meglitinides | 38 (0.28) | 76 (0.26) | 0.004 | 20 (0.23) | 19 (0.22) | 0.002 |
| Insulin | 2703 (19.85) | 1534 (5.21) | 0.453 | 525 (6.07) | 708 (8.19) | 0.082 |
| Alpha‐glucosidase inhibitors | 25 (0.18) | 37 (0.13) | 0.015 | 8 (0.09) | 10 (0.12) | 0.007 |
| Prior use of other antidiabetic drugs, n (%) | ||||||
| Any other antidiabetic medications | 2143 (15.74) | 5332 (18.12) | 0.064 | 1187 (13.73) | 1188 (13.74) | 0 |
| Metformin | 1299 (9.54) | 2891 (9.82) | 0.010 | 802 (9.28) | 793 (9.17) | 0.004 |
| Sulphonylureas, 2nd generation | 877 (6.44) | 2026 (6.89) | 0.018 | 489 (5.66) | 487 (5.63) | 0.001 |
| GLP‐1RAs | 736 (5.41) | 193 (0.66) | 0.280 | 68 (0.79) | 135 (1.56) | 0.072 |
| Thiazolidinediones | 1061 (7.79) | 1874 (6.37) | 0.056 | 613 (7.09) | 603 (6.97) | 0.005 |
| Meglitinides | 16 (0.12) | 24 (0.08) | 0.011 | 7 (0.08) | 10 (0.12) | 0.011 |
| Insulin | 316 (2.32) | 354 (1.20) | 0.085 | 100 (1.16) | 120 (1.39) | 0.021 |
| Alpha‐glucosidase inhibitors | 4 (0.03) | 20 (0.07) | 0.017 | 1 (0.01) | 1 (0.01) | 0 |
| Current use of other drugs, n (%) | ||||||
| Angiotensin‐converting‐enzyme inhibitors | 6409 (47.07) | 13 888 (47.20) | 0.003 | 3857 (44.61) | 3883 (44.91) | 0.006 |
| Angiotensin II receptor blockers | 2318 (17.02) | 5468 (18.58) | 0.041 | 1374 (15.89) | 1397 (16.16) | 0.007 |
| Calcium channel blockers | 3919 (28.78) | 9630 (32.73) | 0.086 | 2460 (28.45) | 2427 (28.07) | 0.008 |
| Thiazides | 2037 (14.96) | 4905 (16.67) | 0.047 | 1240 (14.34) | 1262 (14.60) | 0.007 |
| Loop diuretics | 984 (7.23) | 4390 (14.92) | 0.247 | 598 (6.92) | 598 (6.92) | 0 |
| Nitrates | 1002 (7.36) | 2865 (9.74) | 0.085 | 618 (7.15) | 611 (7.07) | 0.003 |
| Other hypertension drugs | 9862 (72.42) | 22 627 (76.89) | 0.103 | 6049 (69.96) | 6090 (70.44) | 0.01 |
| Digoxin | 141 (1.04) | 951 (3.23) | 0.152 | 99 (1.15) | 113 (1.31) | 0.015 |
| Antiarrhythmic drugs | 72 (0.53) | 245 (0.83) | 0.037 | 48 (0.56) | 46 (0.53) | 0.003 |
| COPD or asthma medications | 2736 (20.09) | 5993 (20.37) | 0.007 | 1683 (19.47) | 1683 (19.47) | 0 |
| Statin | 10 516 (77.23) | 23 082 (78.44) | 0.029 | 6493 (75.10) | 6538 (75.62) | 0.012 |
| Other lipid‐lowering drugs, excluding statins | 703 (5.16) | 1365 (4.64) | 0.024 | 347 (4.01) | 368 (4.26) | 0.012 |
| Antiplatelet | 3898 (28.63) | 10 765 (36.58) | 0.170 | 2319 (26.82) | 2343 (27.10) | 0.006 |
| Anticoagulants | 608 (4.47) | 2487 (8.45) | 0.163 | 410 (4.74) | 417 (4.82) | 0.004 |
| Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs | 2522 (18.52) | 4128 (14.03) | 0.122 | 1524 (17.63) | 1543 (17.85) | 0.006 |
| Oral corticosteroids | 1072 (7.87) | 2854 (9.70) | 0.065 | 687 (7.95) | 674 (7.80) | 0.006 |
| Bisphosphonates | 188 (1.38) | 1202 (4.08) | 0.166 | 139 (1.61) | 128 (1.48) | 0.01 |
| Opioids | 2214 (16.26) | 4329 (14.71) | 0.043 | 1260 (14.57) | 1255 (14.52) | 0.002 |
| Antidepressants | 4566 (33.53) | 7676 (26.09) | 0.163 | 2556 (29.56) | 2538 (29.35) | 0.005 |
| Antipsychotics | 853 (6.26) | 1899 (6.45) | 0.008 | 520 (6.01) | 515 (5.96) | 0.002 |
| Anticonvulsants | 1613 (11.85) | 2782 (9.45) | 0.078 | 880 (10.18) | 887 (10.26) | 0.003 |
| Lithium | 35 (0.26) | 86 (0.29) | 0.007 | 23 (0.27) | 18 (0.21) | 0.012 |
| Other anxiolytics/hypnotics | 709 (5.21) | 1518 (5.16) | 0.002 | 461 (5.33) | 439 (5.08) | 0.011 |
| Agents for dementia | 21 (0.15) | 278 (0.94) | 0.107 | 19 (0.22) | 14 (0.16) | 0.013 |
Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DPP‐4, dipeptidyl peptidase‐4; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GLP‐1RA, glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist; HDL, high‐density lipoprotein; LDL, low‐density lipoprotein; SGLT2, sodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2; SMD, standardized mean difference; TC, total cholesterol.