Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics for different glucose-lowering agent groups after the matching algorithm
| Characteristics | GLP-1ra | 1:1 matched DPP-4i | GLP-1ra | 1:1 matched SU | GLP-1ra | 1:1 matched insulin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of subjects | 1893 | 1893 | 1829 | 1829 | 1367 | 1367 |
| Age at index date (years, mean ± SD) | 49.48 ± 11.61 | 51.78 ± 12.19 | 49.34 ± 11.64 | 51.27 ± 11.82 | 49.38 ± 12.06 | 53.07 ± 13.67a |
| Male at index date (%) | 47.97 | 47.17 | 46.04 | 49.7 | 41.7 | 51.43 |
| Diabetes durationb (years, mean ± SD) | 6.18 ± 2.74 | 6.46 ± 2.7 | 5.9 ± 2.82 | 6.32 ± 2.74 | 6.37 ± 2.75 | 6.33 ± 2.78 |
| Comorbidity history (%) | ||||||
| Hypertension | 62.60 | 62.07 | 61.73 | 62.66 | 59.77 | 67.08 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 70.79 | 71.05 | 70.42 | 70.59 | 69.42 | 70.37 |
| Stroke or transient ischemic attack | 4.86 | 5.23 | 4.37 | 6.07 | 5.27 | 5.05 |
| Heart failure | 2.85 | 3.49 | 2.19 | 3.17 | 3.58 | 3.44 |
| Myocardial infarction | 1.53 | 1.06 | 1.20 | 1.53 | 1.32 | 2.19 |
| Ischemic heart diseases | 12.20 | 11.62 | 12.3 | 13.83 | 13.90 | 14.26 |
| CIC category (%) | ||||||
| Cancer | 4.07 | 5.65 | 4.48 | 5.14 | 5.34 | 5.78 |
| Gastrointestinal | 27.63 | 26.62 | 25.48 | 26.46 | 26.63 | 30.43 |
| Musculoskeletal | 32.70 | 34.28 | 33.13 | 32.31 | 34.67 | 35.70 |
| Pulmonary | 7.82 | 8.45 | 7.27 | 8.37 | 7.39 | 11.49 |
| Substance abuse complexity | 2.54 | 3.06 | 2.41 | 2.62 | 3.00 | 2.49 |
| Mental illness | 8.51 | 8.82 | 8.75 | 10.5 | 10.02 | 10.02 |
| Diabetes-related complications (%) | ||||||
| Retinopathy | 17.91 | 17.38 | 16.79 | 18.48 | 21.58 | 19.09 |
| Nephropathy | 27.21 | 27.63 | 24.93 | 27.23 | 27.58 | 28.75 |
| Neuropathy | 14.37 | 15.27 | 13.61 | 15.36 | 16.83 | 17.56 |
| Peripheral vascular diseases | 4.75 | 4.54 | 4.54 | 4.81 | 4.90 | 5.78 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | 3.96 | 4.38 | 3.39 | 5.03 | 3.95 | 4.39 |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 14.95 | 14.69 | 14.71 | 17.00 | 16.46 | 18.07 |
| Metabolic complications | 0.85 | 2.17 | 1.04 | 1.48 | 2.56 | 2.71 |
| Number of glucose-lowering agents prescribed one year before index date | 3.19 | 3.34 | 3.22 | 3.56 | 3.21 | 3.39 |
| Glucose-lowering agents one year before index date (MPR, mean ± SD)c | ||||||
| Metformin | 0.50 ± 0.43 | 0.50 ± 0.43 | 0.59 ± 0.41 | 0.59 ± 0.41 | 0.46 ± 0.43 | 0.46 ± 0.43 |
| Sulfonylurea | 0.43 ± 0.43 | 0.43 ± 0.43 | 0.66 ± 0.37 | 0.67 ± 0.37 | 0.32 ± 0.41 | 0.32 ± 0.41 |
| Meglitinide | 0.04 ± 0.18 | 0.04 ± 0.18 | 0.02 ± 0.10 | 0.02 ± 0.10 | 0.05 ± 0.19 | 0.05 ± 0.19 |
| Thiazolidinedione | 0.12 ± 0.28 | 0.12 ± 0.28 | 0.13 ± 0.30 | 0.14 ± 0.30 | 0.08 ± 0.23 | 0.08 ± 0.23 |
| Acarbose | 0.15 ± 0.31 | 0.15 ± 0.31 | 0.13 ± 0.29 | 0.13 ± 0.29 | 0.13 ± 0.28 | 0.13 ± 0.28 |
| DPP-4i | 0.67 ± 0.34 | 0.67 ± 0.35 | 0.42 ± 0.42 | 0.42 ± 0.42 | 0.34 ± 0.40 | 0.34 ± 0.40 |
| Insulin | 0.24 ± 0.38 | 0.24 ± 0.38 | 0.21 ± 0.36 | 0.21 ± 0.37 | 0.67 ± 0.36 | 0.67 ± 0.36 |
| CVD-related medication history (%) | ||||||
| Lipid-modifying agents | 68.94 | 68.57 | 66.21 | 67.2 | 67.15 | 69.35 |
| α-Blockers | 4.12 | 4.28 | 3.50 | 2.90 | 3.80 | 4.10 |
| β-Blockers | 31.91 | 30.85 | 31.66 | 31.93 | 33.21 | 35.48 |
| Agents acting on RAAS | 43.69 | 42.37 | 45.05 | 44.18 | 42.28 | 43.75 |
| Diuretics | 18.28 | 18.01 | 20.01 | 20.07 | 21.36 | 18.36 |
| Calcium channel blockers | 32.86 | 31.01 | 32.75 | 33.84 | 32.92 | 35.92 |
| Antiarrhythmics | 1.37 | 1.85 | 1.31 | 1.91 | 1.32 | 2.12 |
| Cardiac glycosides | 0.69 | 1.43 | 0.77 | 0.82 | 0.80 | 1.54 |
| Vasodilators used in cardiac diseases | 8.19 | 9.67 | 7.93 | 9.51 | 9.73 | 10.31 |
| Anti-platelets | 28.84 | 30.27 | 28.05 | 31.00 | 30.94 | 33.50 |
| Anti-coagulants | 1.16 | 1.69 | 0.87 | 1.09 | 1.61 | 1.76 |
All confounders listed above were measured in the year prior to index date, except age, gender, and diabetes duration, which were determined at index date
CIC chronic illness with complexity, CVD cardiovascular disease, DPP-4i dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, GLP-1ra glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, MPR medication possession ratio, RAAS renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, SD standard deviation, SU sulfonylurea
aA significant difference between GLP-1ra and insulin users, as indicated by absolute standardized mean difference > 0.2
bDiabetes duration was measured as the time from the first date of type 2 diabetes diagnosis to index date
cMPR was measured as the sum of prescription refill days in the year prior to index date divided by 365