Safety of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors in Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials
Diabetes Obes Metab 2023 DOI 10.1111/dom.15193
SGLT2is are effective in preventing adverse outcomes of heart failure and chronic kidney disease, which are highly prevalent in the elderly. While SGLT2is are generally well tolerated, elderly patients may be more susceptible to developing AEs reported with this class of drug, such as infections, fracture, and AKI. Clinical experience with SGLT2is in the elderly and very elderly is limited.
This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials looks at the safety outcomes in elderly patients with T2D treated with SGLT2is.
The data shows that SGLT2is appear to be well tolerated in elderly patients. The most common AE was genital tract infection. Overall, researchers concluded that elderly patients are underrepresented in most randomised clinical trials, and that additional efforts should be made to report clinical trial safety outcomes stratified by age.
