Aims: Early treatment intensification for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often required to achieve glycaemic control and avoid longer-term complications. We assessed associations between early versus later dapagliflozin initiation with changes in glucose control, weight, and blood pressure using UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) data.
Methods: People with T2DM aged ≥18 years, initiating dapagliflozin between November 2012 and August 2016 and with prior oral T2DM therapy (N = 3774), were included. The relationship between early (first intensification after metformin or sulfonylurea monotherapy) and later (second or higher-order intensification) dapagliflozin use and baseline changes in glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c; ≥1.0% absolute reduction), weight (≥5.0% relative loss), and systolic blood pressure (SBP; ≥2 mmHg absolute reduction) after 6-12 months were assessed.
Results: Overall, 25% of patients (951 of 3774) were early users and 75% (2823 of 3774) were later users. Later users were older, more likely to be men, and had longer disease duration. Early and later users had similar baseline mean HbA1c levels. For early versus later users, respectively, baseline-adjusted mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) reductions were 1.54% (-1.65, -1.44) versus 1.02% (-1.08, -0.97) in HbA1c, 3.31% (-4.37, -2.25) versus 4.06% (-5.05, -3.07) in weight, and 2.50 mm Hg (-3.89, -1.11) versus 2.84 mm Hg (-3.67, -2.01) in SBP. Early versus later use was associated with a greater likelihood of adjusted HbA1c reduction of ≥1% (odds ratio: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.15-2.45).
Conclusions: Glycaemic benefits were greater with early versus later dapagliflozin intensification. These results support broader and earlier dapagliflozin use.
Keywords: Clinical Practice Research Datalink; Dapagliflozin; Early treatment; T2DM; Treatment intensification; Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.