Table 2.

Effects of commonly used medications on the lipid profile

Medication type/class	Compound	TGs	HDL-C	LDL-C	Reference(s)
Antihyperglycemic
Biguanide	Metformin	↓	Slight ↑	↓	[23, 44]
TZD	Pioglitazone	↓	↑	↑	[23, 38, 44]
	Rosiglitazone	↑	↑	↑	[23, 38, 44]
SU	Glibenclamide	↓/↔	↔	↓/↔	[23, 44]
	Gliclazide	↓	↔	↔	[23, 44]
	Glimepiride	↔	↔	↔	[23, 44]
DPP-4 inhibitor	Sitagliptin	↓	↔	↔	[52]
	Vildagliptin	↓	↔	↔/↓	[54, 58]
	Saxagliptin	↔	↔	↔	[152]
	Alogliptin	↓	↔	↓	[53]
GLP-1 receptor agonist	Exenatide	↓	↑	↓	[23, 65, 66]
	Liraglutide	↓	↑	↓	[23, 66]
SGLT2 inhibitor	Canagliflozin	↓	↑	↑	[73]
	Dapagliflozin	↔	↑	↑	[71]
	Empagliflozin	↔	Slight ↑	↑	[74]
α-Glucosidase inhibitor	Acarbose	↔/↓	↔/↑	↔	[37, 86, 87]
	Miglitol	↔	↔	↔	[86]
Dopamine D2 receptor agonist	Bromocriptine-QR	↓	↔	↔	[83, 84]
Bile acid sequestrant	Colesevelam	↔/↑/↑↑	Slight ↑	↓↓	[77–79]
Insulin		↓	↑	↔	[44, 91]
Antihypertensive
Thiazide diuretic		↑	↔	↑	[95, 153]
ACE inhibitor		↔/↓	↔/↑	↔/↓	[101, 102, 104, 154]
ARB		↓	↑/↔a	↓	[95, 105]
Older-generation β-blocker	e.g. propranolol	↑	↓	↔	[17, 41]
Newer-generation β-blocker	e.g. nebivolol	↔	↔	↓	[93, 108]
Anti-obesity
	Orlistat	↓/↔	↓/↔	↓	[110–113]
	Lorcaserin	↓/↔	↑/↔	↓/↔	[114–117]
	Phentermine/topiramate	↓	↑	↓	[122, 126–128]
	Naltrexone/bupropion	↓	↑	↓/↔	[118–121, 123–125]
Antibiotics
	Metronidazole	↔	↔	↓	[129, 130]
	Ciprofloxacin	↔	↑	↔	[130]
Analgesic
NSAIDs	e.g. ibuprofen, naproxen	↔	↔	↔	[131, 134]
Aspirin		↓	↔	↓	[131, 134]
Contraceptive
Oral contraceptives with second-generation progestogens	e.g. levonorgestrel	↑	↓	↑	[17, 141]
Oral contraceptives with third-generation progestogens	e.g. desogestrel	↑	↑	↓	[17, 141]
HRT
Estrogen monotherapy		–	↑	↓	[143]
Transdermal 17β-estradiol		↔	↔	↔	[143]
Oral estrogen/DMPA		–	–	–	[145, 146]
Other common medications
Glucocorticoids	e.g. prednisone	↑	↑	↑	[95, 147]
Vitamins	Vitamin D	↔	Slight ↑	↔	[148]
	Vitamin B12	↓	↑	↓	[149]
	Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)	↔	↔	↓	[150, 155]
	PUFAs	↓	↑	↓	[151]

ACE angiotensin-converting enzyme, ARB angiotensin receptor blocker, DMPA depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, DPP-4 dipeptidyl peptidase-4, GLP-1 glucagon-like peptide-1, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HRT hormone replacement therapy, LDL-C low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, NSAID nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, PUFA polyunsaturated fatty acid, QR quick release, SGLT2 sodium glucose co-transporter 2, SU sulfonylurea, TG triglyceride, TZD thiazolidinedione

^a Variable depending on type

↑ denotes statistically significant increase; ↔ denotes no significant change; ↓ denotes statistically significant decrease; – denotes data not available