The effect of medication use on chronic pruritus in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a multicenter cross-sectional study

This study aimed to investigate the association between various types of medications and chronic pruritus (CP) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) through a large cross-sectional study. This study encompassed data from the Tianjin Community-Based Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Cohort, comprising 2,059 patients with T2DM who were enrolled from eight community centers. The exposure variables were different medication classes, and the outcome variable was CP symptoms. The prevalence of CP in patients with T2DM was 41.3% (851/2059). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, α-glucosidase inhibitor (AGIs) (adjusted OR 1.272, 95%CI 1.050–1.541), DPP-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) (adjusted OR 1.286, 95%CI 1.006–1.642), and statins(adjusted OR 1.411, 95%CI 1.151–1.729) remained independently associated with higher odds of CP. In addition, the odds of CP increased progressively with the number of medications used (from one to three drugs; ORs ranging from 1.230 to 1.961). Subgroup analyses further identified a significant interaction between AGI use and renal impairment, with higher odds of CP observed among patients with renal impairment. (P for interaction < 0.05). CP in patients with T2DM was associated with the use of AGIs, DPP-4is, and statins. Moreover, a significant interaction was observed between renal impairment and the use of AGIs.