Report from the 4th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (CVOT) Summit of the Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease (D&CVD) EASD Study Group

CVOT Summit Report 2023: new cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic outcomes

The 9th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (CVOT) Summit: Congress on Cardiovascular, Kidney, and Metabolic Outcomes was held virtually on November 30-December 1, 2023. This reference congress served as a platform for in-depth discussions and exchange on recently completed outcomes trials including dapagliflozin (DAPA-MI), semaglutide (SELECT and STEP-HFpEF) and bempedoic acid (CLEAR Outcomes), and the advances they represent in reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), improving metabolic outcomes, and treating obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). A broad audience of endocrinologists, diabetologists, cardiologists, nephrologists and primary care physicians participated in online discussions on guideline updates for the management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in diabetes, heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD); advances in the management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its comorbidities; advances in the management of CKD with SGLT2 inhibitors and non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (nsMRAs); and advances in the treatment of obesity with GLP-1 and dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists. The association of diabetes and obesity with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH; metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, MASH) and cancer and possible treatments for these complications were also explored. It is generally assumed that treatment of chronic diseases is equally effective for all patients. However, as discussed at the Summit, this assumption may not be true. Therefore, it is important to enroll patients from diverse racial and ethnic groups in clinical trials and to analyze patient-reported outcomes to assess treatment efficacy, and to develop innovative approaches to tailor medications to those who benefit most with minimal side effects. Other keys to a successful management of diabetes and comorbidities, including dementia, entail the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology and the implementation of appropriate patient-physician communication strategies. The 10th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial Summit will be held virtually on December 5-6, 2024 ( http://www.cvot.org ).

Absolute treatment effects of novel antidiabetic drugs on a composite renal outcome: meta-analysis of digitalized individual patient data

BACKGROUND

Absolute treatment benefits-expressed as numbers needed to treat-of the glucose lowering and cardiovascular drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and sodium-glucose transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on renal outcomes remain uncertain. With the present meta-analysis of digitalized individual patient data, we aimed to display and compare numbers needed to treat of both drugs on a composite renal outcome.

METHODS

From Kaplan-Meier plots of major cardiovascular outcome trials of GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors vs. placebo, we digitalized individual patient time-to-event information on composite renal outcomes with WebPlotDigitizer 4.2; numbers needed to treat from individual cardiovascular outcome trials were estimated using parametric Weibull regression models and compared to original data. Random-effects meta-analysis generated meta-numbers needed to treat with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

Twelve cardiovascular outcome trials (three for GLP-1 receptor agonists, nine for SGLT2 inhibitors) comprising 90,865 participants were included. Eight trials were conducted in primary type 2 diabetes populations, two in a primary heart failure and two in a primary chronic kidney disease population. Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate at baseline ranged between 37.3 and 85.3 ml/min/1.73 m2. Meta-analyses estimated meta-numbers needed to treat of 85 (95% CI 60; 145) for GLP-1 receptor agonists and 104 (95% CI 81; 147) for SGLT2 inhibitors for the composite renal outcome at the overall median follow-up time of 36 months.

CONCLUSION

The present meta-analysis of digitalized individual patient data revealed moderate and similar absolute treatment benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors compared to placebo for a composite renal outcome.

Role of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) in diabetic complications

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications have remained a major cause of death among patients with diabetes. Hence, there is a need for effective therapeutics against diabetes-induced CVD complications. Since its discovery, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has been reported to be involved in the pathology of various CVDs, with studies showing a positive association between plasma levels of PCSK9, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia. PCSK9 regulates lipid homeostasis by interacting with low-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLRs) present in hepatocytes and subsequently induces LDLR degradation via receptor-mediated endocytosis, thereby reducing LDL uptake from circulation. In addition, PCSK9 also induces pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and apoptotic cell death in diabetic-CVD. Furthermore, therapies designed to inhibit PCSK9 effectively reduces diabetic dyslipidemia with clinical studies reporting reduced cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes and no significant adverse effect on glycemic controls. In this review, we discuss the role of PCSK9 in the pathogenesis of diabetes-induced CVD and the potential mechanisms by which PCSK9 inhibition reduces cardiovascular events in diabetic patients.

CVOT Summit 2022 Report: new cardiovascular, kidney, and glycemic outcomes

The 8th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (CVOT) Summit on Cardiovascular, Kidney, and Glycemic Outcomes was held virtually on November 10-12, 2022. Following the tradition of previous summits, this reference congress served as a platform for in-depth discussion and exchange on recently completed outcomes trials as well as key trials important to the cardiovascular (CV) field. This year's focus was on the results of the DELIVER, EMPA-KIDNEY and SURMOUNT-1 trials and their implications for the treatment of heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and obesity with glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. A broad audience of primary care physicians, diabetologists, endocrinologists, cardiologists, and nephrologists participated online in discussions on new consensus recommendations and guideline updates on type 2 diabetes (T2D) and CKD management, overcoming clinical inertia, glycemic markers, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), novel insulin preparations, combination therapy, and reclassification of T2D. The impact of cardiovascular outcomes on the design of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) trials, as well as the impact of real-world evidence (RWE) studies on the confirmation of CVOT outcomes and clinical trial design, were also intensively discussed. The 9th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial Summit will be held virtually on November 23-24, 2023 ( http://www.cvot.org ).

Can SGLT2 inhibitors answer unmet therapeutic needs in chronic kidney disease?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem, affecting more than 850 million people worldwide. The number of patients receiving renal replacement therapy (dialysis or renal transplantation) has increased over the years, and it has been estimated that the number of people receiving renal replacement therapy will more than double from 2.618 million in 2010 to 5.439 million in 2030, with wide differences among countries. The main focus of CKD treatment has now become preserving renal function rather than replacing it. This is possible, at least to some extent, through the optimal use of multifactorial therapy aimed at preventing end-stage kidney disease and cardiovascular events. Sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) reduce glomerular hypertension and albuminuria with beneficial effects on progression of renal damage in both diabetic and non-diabetic CKD. SGLT2 inhibitors also show great benefits in cardiovascular protection, irrespective of diabetes. Therefore, the use of these drugs will likely be extended to the whole CKD population as a new standard of care.

Report from the CVOT Summit 2021: new cardiovascular, renal, and glycemic outcomes

The 7th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (CVOT) Summit on Cardiovascular, Renal, and Glycemic Outcomes, was held virtually on November 18-19, 2021. Pursuing the tradition of the previous summits, this reference congress served as a platform for in-depth discussion and exchange on recently completed CVOTs. This year's focus was placed on the outcomes of EMPEROR-Preserved, FIGARO-DKD, AMPLITUDE-O, SURPASS 1-5, and STEP 1-5. Trial implications for diabetes and obesity management and the impact on new treatment algorithms were highlighted for endocrinologists, diabetologists, cardiologists, nephrologists, and general practitioners. Discussions evolved from outcome trials using SGLT2 inhibitors as therapy for heart failure, to CVOTs with nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists and GLP-1 receptor agonists. Furthermore, trials for glycemic and overweight/obesity management, challenges in diabetes management in COVID-19, and novel guidelines and treatment strategies were discussed.Trial registration The 8th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial Summit will be held virtually on November 10-11, 2022 ( http://www.cvot.org ).

Changing the Concept: From the Traditional Glucose-centric to the New Cardiorenal-metabolic Approach for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disease with a constantly increasing prevalence worldwide. It is well established that T2DM affects both the macro- and microvasculature, and its presence is associated with a high risk of acute and chronic cardiovascular events. Traditionally, the management of T2DM has been mainly focused on the optimization of blood glucose levels with the use of antidiabetic medications. During recent years, however, an impressive accumulation of evidence has arisen from studies designed to explore the plausible effects of new antidiabetic drugs on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetes. This review article aims to emphasize the findings of these studies and to highlight the substantial role of the newer classes of antidiabetic drugs in treating T2DM in a holistic, cardiorenal-metabolic approach, thus shifting the paradigm from the traditional, simplistic, glucose-lowering approach.

The potential role of EHR data in optimizing eligibility criteria definition for cardiovascular outcome trials

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) include patients with high risks for cardiovascular events based on specific inclusion criteria. Little is known about the impact of such inclusion criteria on patient accrual and the incidence rate of cardiovascular events.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We evaluated the impact of criteria on the accrual and the number of cardiovascular events in a cohort of 1544 diabetes patients identified from the clinical data warehouse of New York Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

RESULTS

The highest incidence rate of the composite events (i.e., cardiovascular mortality, stroke, and myocardial infarction) was observed when the inclusion criteria seek patients with underlying cardiovascular diseases or age ≥ 60 with at least two of the risk factors including duration of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking status, and albuminuria.

CONCLUSION

Our study shows that the electronic health records could be utilized to optimize the inclusion criteria while balancing study inclusiveness and number of events.

A Deep Learning Approach to Predict Diabetes' Cardiovascular Complications From Administrative Claims

People with diabetes require lifelong access to healthcare services to delay the onset of complications. Their disease management processes generate great volumes of data across several domains, from clinical to administrative. Difficulties in accessing and processing these data hinder their secondary use in an institutional setting, even for highly desirable applications, such as the prediction of cardiovascular disease, the main driver of excess mortality in diabetes. Hence, in the present work, we propose a deep learning model for the prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), developed and validated using the administrative claims of 214,676 diabetic patients of the Veneto region, in North East Italy. Specifically, we use a year of pharmacy and hospitalisation claims, together with basic patient's information, to predict the 4P-MACE composite endpoint, i.e., the first occurrence of death, heart failure, myocardial infarction, or stroke, with a variable prediction horizon of 1 to 5 years. Adapting to the time-to-event nature of this task, we cast our problem as a multi-outcome (4P-MACE and components), multi-label (1 to 5 years) classification task with a custom loss to account for the effect of censoring. Our model, purposefully specified to minimise data preparation costs, exhibits satisfactory performance in predicting 4P-MACE at all prediction horizons: AUROC from 0.812 (C.I.: 0.797 - 0.827) to 0.792 (C.I.: 0.781 - 0.802); C-index from 0.802 (C.I.: 0.788 - 0.816) to 0.770 (C.I.: 0.761 - 0.779). Components' prediction performance is also adequate, ranging from death's 0.877 1-year AUROC to stroke's 0.689 5-year AUROC.

The effect of sodium-glucose transport protein 2 inhibitors on mortality and heart failure in randomized trials versus observational studies

AIM

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) allocating type 2 diabetes patients to treatment with sodium-glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors or placebo have found significant effects on the risk of heart failure and modest effects on mortality. In the wake of the first trials, a number of observational studies have been conducted, some of these reporting a mortality reduction of 50% compared to active comparators. In this review, we systematically assess and compare the results on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and heart failure hospitalization observed in RCTs with the results obtained in observational studies.

METHOD

We performed a systematic bibliographical search including cardiovascular outcome trials and observational studies assessing the effect of SGLT-2 inhibitors on mortality and heart failure.

RESULTS

Seven RCTs and 23 observational studies were included in the current review. The observed heterogeneity between study results for all-cause mortality (p-interaction < 0.001) and cardiovascular mortality (p-interaction < 0.001) was explained by study type, whereas this was not the case for heart failure (p-interaction = 0.18).

CONCLUSION

Methodological considerations such as the omission of important confounders, immortal-time bias and residual confounding such as unmeasured social economic inequality may be the cause of the inflated results observed in observational studies and that calls for caution when observational studies are used to guide treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Electrical Features of the Diabetic Myocardium. Arrhythmic and Cardiovascular Safety Considerations in Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia in the absence of treatment. Among the diabetes-associated complications, cardiovascular disease is the major cause of mortality and morbidity in diabetic patients. Diabetes causes a complex myocardial dysfunction, referred as diabetic cardiomyopathy, which even in the absence of other cardiac risk factors results in abnormal diastolic and systolic function. Besides mechanical abnormalities, altered electrical function is another major feature of the diabetic myocardium. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients often show cardiac electrical remodeling, mainly a prolonged ventricular repolarization visible in the electrocardiogram as a lengthening of the QT interval duration. The underlying mechanisms at the cellular level involve alterations on the expression and activity of several cardiac ion channels and their associated regulatory proteins. Consequent changes in sodium, calcium and potassium currents collectively lead to a delay in repolarization that can increase the risk of developing life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. QT duration correlates strongly with the risk of developing torsade de pointes, a form of ventricular tachycardia that can degenerate into ventricular fibrillation. Therefore, QT prolongation is a qualitative marker of proarrhythmic risk, and analysis of ventricular repolarization is therefore required for the approval of new drugs. To that end, the Thorough QT/QTc analysis evaluates QT interval prolongation to assess potential proarrhythmic effects. In addition, since diabetic patients have a higher risk to die from cardiovascular causes than individuals without diabetes, cardiovascular safety of the new antidiabetic drugs must be carefully evaluated in type 2 diabetic patients. These cardiovascular outcome trials reveal that some glucose-lowering drugs actually reduce cardiovascular risk. The mechanism of cardioprotection might involve a reduction of the risk of developing arrhythmia.

Risk of Death and Heart Failure among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Treated by Metformin and Nonmetformin Monotherapy: A Real-World Study

BACKGROUND

To assess the association of metformin monotherapy with the risk of all-cause deaths and cardiovascular deaths and events in type 2 diabetes patients in real clinical practice.

METHODS

This retrospective, observational study comprised patients with type 2 diabetes initially treated with metformin or nonmetformin monotherapy over 2011-2016. Data were extracted from the National Healthcare Big Data database in Fuzhou, China. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed, matching each patient on metformin to one on nonmetformin in terms of a set of covariates. The primary endpoint was all-cause death, and secondary endpoints were cardiovascular death, heart failure, and heart failure hospitalization. Covariate-adjusted associations of metformin use with all the endpoints were assessed by Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

Among 24,099 patients, 5491 were initially treated with metformin and 18,608 with nonmetformin. PSM yielded 5482 patients in each cohort. During a median follow-up of 2.02 years, we observed 110 and 211 deaths in the metformin and nonmetformin groups, respectively. Metformin was significantly associated with reduced risk of all-cause death (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39-0.69), cardiovascular death (aHR 0.63, 95% CI 0.43-0.91), and heart failure (aHR 0.61, 95% CI 0.52-0.73), whereas the reduced risk in heart failure hospitalization was not statistically significant (aHR 0.70, 95% CI 0.47-1.02).

CONCLUSIONS

In this analysis of electronic health record data from a large database in China, metformin as first-line monotherapy greatly reduced the risk of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and heart failure in diabetes patients as compared with nonmetformin medications.

Cardiovascular safety of evogliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes: A nationwide cohort study

AIM

To assess whether the use of evogliptin, a novel dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i), was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events compared with glimepiride in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

We conducted a population-based cohort study using South Korea's nationwide healthcare database from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2018. We identified a base cohort of patients with T2D who newly initiated metformin monotherapy, from which we identified a study cohort of patients who either added or switched to glimepiride or DPP-4is (including evogliptin). Patients were followed up from initiation of DPP-4is or glimepiride until the earliest of either outcome occurrence or 31 December 2018. Our primary outcome was hospitalization or an emergency visit for cardiovascular events, a composite endpoint comprised of cerebrovascular events, heart failure, myocardial infarction, transient ischaemic attack, angina pectoris and revascularization procedures; secondary outcomes were the individual components of the primary outcome. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of study outcomes associated with evogliptin compared with glimepiride.

RESULTS

Our base and study cohorts had 317,307 and 128,788 patients, respectively, of which 100,038 were DPP-4i users (2946 were evogliptin users) and 28,750 were glimepiride users within the study cohort. The median follow-up was 195 days for evogliptin and 113 days for glimepiride users. Compared with glimepiride, evogliptin was associated with a reduced risk of the primary outcome (aHR 0.67, 95% CI 0.48-0.95) and cerebrovascular events (aHR 0.41, 95% CI 0.22-0.78) but showed non-significant associations for myocardial infarction (aHR 0.63, 95% CI 0.27-1.46), heart failure (aHR 0.35, 95% CI 0.09-1.47), transient ischaemic attack (aHR 0.23, 95% CI 0.03-1.72) and angina pectoris (aHR 1.35, 95% CI 0.82-2.21).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this population-based cohort study provide novel real-world evidence that the use of evogliptin, compared with glimepiride, did not increase the risk of cardiovascular events, including cerebrovascular events, myocardial infarction, heart failure, transient ischaemic attack and angina pectoris.

Cardiovascular Events, Acute Hospitalizations, and Mortality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Who Initiate Empagliflozin Versus Liraglutide: A Comparative Effectiveness Study

Background

In cardiovascular outcome trials, the sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor empagliflozin and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) receptor agonist liraglutide caused similar reductions in major adverse cardiac events (MACE). We compared clinical outcomes in routine clinical care.

Methods and Results

EMPLACE (Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes, and Mortality in Danish Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Who Initiate Empagliflozin Versus GLP‐1RA: A Danish Nationwide Comparative Effectiveness Study) is an ongoing nationwide population‐based comparative effectiveness cohort study in Denmark. For the present study, we included 14 498 new users of empagliflozin and 12 706 new users of liraglutide, 2015 to 2018. Co‐primary outcomes were expanded major adverse cardiac events (stroke, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, coronary revascularization, hospitalization for heart failure [HHF], or all‐cause death); HHF or all‐cause death; and first HHF or first initiation of loop‐diuretic therapy. Secondary outcomes included all‐cause hospitalization or death. We applied propensity score balancing and Cox regression to compute adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) in on‐treatment (OT) and intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analyses. Cohorts were well balanced at baseline (median age 61 years, 59% men, diabetes mellitus duration 6.6 years, 30% with preexisting cardiovascular disease). During mean follow‐up of 1.1 years in OT and 1.5 years in ITT analyses, empagliflozin versus liraglutide was associated with a similar rate of expanded major adverse cardiac events (OT aHR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.91–1.14; ITT aHR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.96–1.17), and HHF or all‐cause death (OT aHR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.85–1.11; ITT aHR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.91–1.14); and a decreased rate of a first incident HHF or loop‐diuretic initiation (OT aHR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68–0.94; ITT aHR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.76–1.00), and of all‐cause hospitalization or death (OT aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89–0.98; ITT aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90–0.97).

Conclusions

Empagliflozin and liraglutide initiators had comparable rates of expanded major adverse cardiac events, and HHF or all‐cause death, whereas empagliflozin initiators had a lower rate of a first HHF or loop‐diuretic initiation.

Transposition of cardiovascular outcome trial effects to the real-world population of patients with type 2 diabetes

Background

Transferring results obtained in cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) to the real-world setting is challenging. We herein transposed CVOT results to the population of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) seen in routine clinical practice and who may receive the medications tested in CVOTs.

Methods

We implemented the post-stratification approach based on aggregate data of CVOTs and individual data of a target population of diabetic outpatients. We used stratum-specific estimates available from CVOTs to calculate expected effect size for the target population by weighting the average of the stratum-specific treatment effects according to proportions of a given characteristic in the target population. Data are presented as hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Compared to the target population (n = 139,708), the CVOT population (n = 95,816) was younger and had a two to threefold greater prevalence of cardiovascular disease. EMPA-REG was the CVOT with the largest variety of details on stratum-specific effects, followed by TECOS, whereas DECLARE and PIONEER-6 had more limited stratum-specific information. The post-stratification HR estimate for 3 point major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) based on EMPA-REG was 0.88 (0.74–1.03) in the target population, compared to 0.86 (0.74–0.99) in the trial. The HR estimate based on LEADER was 0.88 (0.77–0.99) in the target population compared to 0.87 (0.78–0.97) in the trial. Consistent results were obtained for SUSTAIN-6, EXSCEL, PIONEER-6 and DECLARE. The effect of DPP-4 inhibitors observed in CVOTs remained neutral in the target population.

Conclusions

Based on CVOT stratum-specific effects, cardiovascular protective actions of glucose lowering medications tested in CVOTs are transferrable to a much different real-world population of patients with T2D.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12933-021-01300-y.

Report from the CVOT Summit 2020: new cardiovascular and renal outcomes

The 6th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (CVOT) Summit "Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes 2020" was the first to be held virtually on October 29-30, 2020. As in previous years, this summit served as reference meeting for in-depth discussions on the topic of recently completed and presented major outcome trials. This year, focus was placed on the outcomes of VERTIS-CV, EMPEROR-Reduced, DAPA-CKD, and FIDELIO-DKD. Trial implications for diabetes management and the impact on new treatment algorithms were highlighted for diabetologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, and general practitioners. Discussion evolved from major outcome trials using SGLT-2 inhibitors for treatment and prevention of heart failure and chronic kidney disease in people with and without diabetes, to additional therapy options for chronic kidney disease with a novel mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist. Furthermore, challenges in diabetes management like COVID-19 and obesity, as well as novel treatment strategies and guidelines, were discussed.The 7th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial Summit will be held virtually on November, 18-19, 2021 ( http://www.cvot.org ).

Glucodynamics and glucocracy in type 2 diabetes mellitus: clinical evidence and practice-based opinion on modern sulfonylurea use, from an International Expert Group (South Asia, Middle East & Africa) via modified Delphi method

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global epidemic. According to international guidelines, the management protocol of T2DM includes lowering of blood glucose, along with preventing disease-related complications and maintaining optimal quality of life. Further, the guidelines recommend the use of a patient-centric approaches for the management of T2DM; however, Asian population is underrepresented in landmark cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs). There are several guidelines available today for the diagnosis and management of T2DM, and hence there is much confusion among practitioners about which guidelines to follow. A group of thirty international clinical experts comprising of endocrinologists, diabetologists and cardiologist from South Asia, Middle East and Africa met at New Delhi, India on February 8 and 9, 2020 and developed an international expert opinion statements via a structured modified Delphi method on the glucodynamic properties of OADs and the glucocratic treatment approach for the management of T2DM. In this modified Delphi consensus report, we document the glucodynamic properties of Modern SUs in terms of glucoconfidence, glucosafety, and gluconomics. According to glucodynamics theory, an ideal antidiabetic drug should be efficacious, safe, and affordable. Modern SUs as a class of OADs that have demonstrated optimal glucodynamics in terms of glucoconfidence, glucosafety, and gluconomics. Hence, modern SUs are most suitable second line drug after metformin for developing countries. Based on the current evidence, we recommend a glucocratic approach for the treatment of T2DM, where an individualized treatment plan with phenotype, lifestyle, environmental, social, and cultural factors should be considered for persons with T2DM in the South Asian, Middle Eastern and African regions.

Cardiovascular events and mortality in people with type 2 diabetes and multimorbidity: A real-world study of patients followed for up to 19 years

AIM

To quantify the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and multimorbidity.

METHODS

This retrospective study used English primary and secondary care data to identify 120 409 adults newly diagnosed with T2D during 2000-2018 with follow-up until death or 31 December 2018. Patients were classified according to the level and type of multimorbidity at T2D diagnosis, and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) were calculated for each outcome.

RESULTS

In total, 66 977 (55.6%) patients had T2D only, 37 894 (31.5%) had one co-morbidity, 11 357 (9.4%) had two co-morbidities, 3186 (2.6%) patients had three co-morbidities and 995 (0.8%) patients had four or more co-morbidities. Co-morbidities were associated with increased aHRs for all outcomes. Compared with patients with T2D only, at 19 years after diagnosis of T2D the aHR for four or more co-morbidities was 2.57 (95% CI 2.45-2.69) for a CVD event, 1.73 (1.68-1.78) for all-cause mortality and 2.68 (2.52-2.85) for cardiovascular mortality. Also, 100 183 (83.2%) patients had no CVD co-morbidities, 16 874 (14.0%) patients had one CVD co-morbidity and 3352 (2.8%) patients had two or more co-morbidities. Compared with patients with no CVD co-morbidities, at 19 years after diagnosis of T2D the aHR for two or more CVD co-morbidities was 2.42 (2.35-2.49) for a CVD event, 1.44 (1.42-1.47) for all-cause mortality and 2.44 (2.35-2.54) for cardiovascular mortality.

CONCLUSION

In people with T2D, level of multimorbidity and, in particular, CVD multimorbidity increased the risk of subsequent CVD events, mortality and cardiovascular mortality.

Diabetes and Covid-19 among hospitalized patients in Saudi Arabia: a single-centre retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Information on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized Covid-19 patients with or without diabetes mellitus (DM) is limited in the Arab region. This study aims to fill this gap.

METHODS

In this single-center retrospective study, medical records of hospitalized adults with confirmed Covid-19 [RT-PCR positive for SARS-CoV2] at King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC)-King Khaled University Hospital (KKUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from May to July 2020 were analyzed. Clinical, radiological and serological information, as well as outcomes were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 439 patients were included (median age 55 years; 68.3% men). The most prevalent comorbidities were vitamin D deficiency (74.7%), DM (68.3%), hypertension (42.6%) and obesity (42.2%). During hospitalization, 77 out of the 439 patients (17.5%) died. DM patients have a significantly higher death rate (20.5% versus 12.3%; p = 0.04) and lower survival time (p = 0.016) than non-DM. Multivariate cox proportional hazards regression model revealed that age [Hazards ratio, HR 3.0 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.7-5.3); p < 0.001], congestive heart failure [adjusted HR 3.5 (CI 1.4-8.3); p = 0.006], smoking [adjusted HR 5.8 (CI 2.0-17.2); p < 0.001], β-blocker use [adjusted HR 1.7 (CI 1.0-2.9); p = 0.04], bilateral lung infiltrates [adjusted HR 1.9 (CI 1.1-3.3); p = 0.02], creatinine > 90 µmol/l [adjusted HR 2.1 (CI 1.3-3.5); p = 0.004] and 25(OH)D < 12.5 nmol/l [adjusted HR 7.0 (CI 1.7-28.2); p = 0.007] were significant predictors of mortality among hospitalized Covid-19 patients. Random blood glucose ≥ 11.1 mmol/l was significantly associated with intensive care admission [adjusted HR 1.5 (CI 1.0-2.2); p = 0.04], as well as smoking, β-blocker use, neutrophil > 7.5, creatinine > 90 µmol/l and alanine aminotransferase > 65U/l.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of DM is high among hospitalized Covid-19 patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While DM patients have a higher mortality rate than their non-DM counterparts, other factors such as old age, congestive heart failure, smoking, β-blocker use, presence of bilateral lung infiltrates, elevated creatinine and severe vitamin D deficiency, appear to be more significant predictors of fatal outcome. Patients with acute metabolic dysfunctions, including hyperglycemia on admission are more likely to receive intensive care.

Glucose-lowering therapies in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, and many patients with diabetes have prevalent cardiovascular complications. Recent cardiovascular outcome clinical trials suggest that certain new glucose-lowering drugs are accompanied by additional cardioprotective properties. Indeed, selected glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists have a proved cardiovascular benefit in terms of a reduced incidence of ischaemic events, while sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors have also shown significant protection, with a striking effect on heart failure and renal endpoints. These findings have been integrated in recent guidelines which now recommend prescribing (when initial metformin monotherapy fails) a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist or a sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor with clinical trial-confirmed benefit in patients with diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and a sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor in such patients with heart failure or chronic kidney disease at initial stages. Furthermore, the new 2019 European Society of Cardiology guidelines in collaboration with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes recommend a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist or a sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor in treatment-naive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with pre-existing cardiovascular disease or at high cardiovascular risk. Future research will disentangle the mechanisms underpinning these beneficial effects and will also establish to what extent these results are generalisable to the whole diabetes population. In the meantime, available evidence should prompt a wide diffusion of these two classes of drugs among patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Here, we briefly summarise recent findings emerging from cardiovascular outcome clinical trials, discuss their impact on treatment algorithms and propose new possible approaches to improve our knowledge further regarding the cardiovascular effect of glucose-lowering medications.

Report from the 5th cardiovascular outcome trial (CVOT) summit

The 5th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (CVOT) Summit was held in Munich on October 24th-25th, 2019. As in previous years, this summit served as a reference meeting for in-depth discussions on the topic of recently completed and presented CVOTs. This year, focus was placed on the CVOTs CAROLINA, CREDENCE, DAPA-HF, REWIND, and PIONEER-6. Trial implications for diabetes management and the impact on new treatment algorithms were highlighted for diabetologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, and general practitioners. Discussions evolved from CVOTs to additional therapy options for heart failure (ARNI), knowledge gained for the treatment and prevention of heart failure and diabetic kidney disease in populations with and without diabetes, particularly using SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists. Furthermore, the ever increasing impact of CVOTs and substances tested for primary prevention and primary care was discussed. The 6th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial Summit will be held in Munich on October 29th-30th, 2020 (https://www.cvot.org).

"H" for Heterogeneity in the Algorithm for Type 2 Diabetes Management

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Genetic, socioeconomic and clinical features vary considerably among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) influencing disease development, progression and response to therapy. Although a patient-centred approach to pharmacologic therapy of T2D is widely recommended, patients are often treated similarly, irrespective of the differences that may affect therapeutic response. Addressing the heterogeneity of T2D is a major task of diabetes research to lower the high rate of treatment failure as well as to reduce the risk of long-term complications.

RECENT FINDINGS

A pathophysiology-based clustering system seems the most promising to help in the stratification of diabetes in terms of complication risk and response to treatment. This urges for clinical studies looking at novel biomarkers related to the different metabolic pathways of T2D and able to inform about the therapeutic cluster of each patient. Here, we review the main settings of diabetes heterogeneity, to what extent it has been already addressed and the current gaps in knowledge towards a personalized therapeutic approach that considers the distinctive features of each patient.

Primary versus secondary cardiorenal prevention in type 2 diabetes: Which newer anti-hyperglycaemic drug matters?

We are observing a resurgence of major diabetic vascular complications after a period of dramatic decrease during the period 1990 to 2010. The classical division of cardiovascular prevention into primary (with an event) and secondary (without an event) is largely used to describe cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, there is evidence that the cardiovascular risk in diabetes may range from highest in patients who experienced a previous cardiovascular event to mild in patients with the main risk factors at target. Herein, we present details of the 14 cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) published to date, including the total population investigated, and their separation into primary (T2D + multiple risk factors) and secondary prevention (T2D + established cardiovascular disease [CVD]) populations as detailed within the trials. We also summarize evidence for the effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) and sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i) versus placebo on the risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE), heart failure (HF) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD). In primary prevention, SGLT-2i reduce both the risk of hospitalization for HF and progression of DKD; in secondary prevention, SGLT-2i are effective on the three endpoints, DPP-4i are neutral, while GLP1-RA show mixed results.

Series: Implications of the recent CVOTs in type 2 diabetes: Impact on guidelines: The endocrinologist point of view

The management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) essentially consists in controlling hyperglycaemia, together with other vascular risk factors, in order to reduce the incidence and severity of diabetic complications. Whereas glucose control using classical glucose-lowering agents (except perhaps metformin) largely fails to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD), two new pharmacological classes, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is), have proven their ability to reduce major cardiovascular events in patients with established CVD. Furthermore, SGLT2is reduced the risk of hospitalisation for heart failure and the progression of renal disease. According to the 2018 ADA-EASD consensus report, the choice of a second agent to be added to metformin should now be driven by the presence or not of atherosclerotic CVD, heart failure or renal disease, all conditions that should promote the use of a SGLT2i or a GLP-1 RA with proven efficacy. Thus endocrinologists have to face a new paradigm in the management of T2DM, with a shift from a primary objective of glucose control without inducing hypoglycaemia and weight gain to a goal of cardiovascular and renal protection, largely independent of glucose control. Of note, however, the latter remains crucial to reduce the risk of microangiopathy.

Renal Effects of Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter Inhibitors

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors immediately reduce the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. When given chronically, they confer benefit by markedly slowing the rate at which chronic kidney disease progresses and are the first agents to do so since the advent of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Salutary effects on the kidney were first demonstrated in cardiovascular outcomes trials and have now emerged from trials enriched in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease. A simple model that unifies the immediate and long-term effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on kidney function is based on the assumption that diabetic hyperfiltration puts the kidney at long-term risk and evidence that hyperfiltration is an immediate response to a reduced signal for tubuloglomerular feedback, which occurs to the extent that SGLT2 activity mediates a primary increase in sodium and fluid reabsorption by the proximal tubule. This model will likely continue to serve as a useful description accounting for the beneficial effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on the diabetic kidney, similar to the hemodynamic explanation for the benefit of ACEIs and ARBs. A more complex model will be required to incorporate positive interactions between SGLT2 and sodium-hydrogen exchanger 3 in the proximal tubule and between sodium-glucose co-transporter 1 (SGLT1) and nitric oxide synthase in the macula densa. The implication of these latter nuances for day-to-day clinical medicine remains to be determined.