Use of Potentially Nephrotoxic Drugs in Type 2 Diabetes Patients on SGLT2i: A Trajectories Analysis

To characterize trajectories of nephrotoxic potential (NxP) drug use among older adults with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) treated with SGLT2is and identify associated patient characteristics.

Using 2012-2019 Medicare data, we selected patients with T2D who filled at least one prescription for SGLT2is. Index date was the date of the first SGLT2i prescription filled. We quantified the number of drugs with NxP used every month during the first 12 months following the index date. The monthly counts of drugs with NxP were incorporated into the group-based trajectory model to identify groups with similar drug use patterns. Finally, we performed a multinomial logistic regression model to examine the association between patient characteristics and group membership.

The study cohort comprised 8811 Medicare beneficiaries with T2D who initiated SGLT2i during the study period with the mean age 67.5 ± 10.6 years. We identified 3 trajectories NxP drug use: no (n = 2142, 24%), low (n = 4752, 54%) and high (n = 1917, 22%) use of drugs with NxP, with patients falling into these categories based on the number of drugs with NxP they used over the time: no drugs, one drug, or two or more drugs. Age, gender, low-income subsidy eligibility and clinical characteristics were associated with group membership.

We successfully identified three trajectory groups, with a substantial proportion of patients showing low use of drugs with NxP. Both social and clinical factors were associated with the use of NxP drugs.