Analysis of the effect of liraglutide on glycemic variability in patients with type 2 diabetes

The efficacy of liraglutide in the treatment of glycemic variability in type 2 diabetic patients remains to be fully elucidated. Some studies evaluated the efficacy and safety of liraglutide in glycemic variability, and this meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the results of existing studies on the efficacy of liraglutide. We conducted a comprehensive search for all relevant studies published in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and China Academic Journal Full-Text Database from the beginning of 2011 to October 31, 2019. The mean ± SD and 95% confidence interval were used for evaluation, and subgroup and sensitivity analysis were carried out. Publication bias was estimated by funnel plots and Egger's tests. A total of 16 studies were included in the meta-analysis involving 492 participants. MAGE (mean amplitude of glycemic excursion), LAGE (largest amplitude of glycemic excursions), SD (standard deviation of blood glucose), and MODD (mean of daily differences) were collected to reflect the variability of blood glucose. The glycemic variability indexes of patients before and after treatment with liraglutide were compared. Patients with treatment had lower glycemic variability compared with patients receiving treatment of liraglutide. Compared with the patients before the treatment, the patients after the treatment had a smaller glycemic variability (MAGE: I² = 92%, p < 0.01, Z = 11.91, p < 0.01, MD = -2.78, 95%CI: -3.24 - -2.32; LAGE: I² = 76%, p = 0.08, Z = 9.94, p < 0.01, MD = -2.20, 95%CI: -2.59 - -1.81; MODD: I² = 74%, p = 0.002, Z = 14.03, p < 0.01, MD = -0.90, 95%CI: -1.02 - -0.77; SD: I² = 93%, p < 0.01, Z = 3.62, p < 0.01, SMD = -1.77, 95%CI: -2.73 - -0.81). Sensitivity analysis showed that our results were reliable and no evidence of significant publication bias was detected. The results of this study suggest that patients with type 2 diabetes treated with liraglutide are associated with lower glycemic variability.