Racial, Gender and Socioeconomic Components Linked to Chance of Getting Confirmed Therapy for Diabetes

Newswise – PHILADELPHIA – A new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found significant differences in the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2), a class of drugs that have been shown to be type 2 Treating Diabetes Despite an increase in overall use in patients with type 2 diabetes, they remain low in black, Asian, and low-income groups. The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

“One study after another, including large randomized trials, has shown this class of drugs to have cardiovascular and kidney protective effects,” said the study’s lead author. Lauren Eberly, MD, MPH, a cardiologist from the University of Pennsylvania. “We know that black patients already have higher rates of heart failure and kidney disease. It is worrying that this is a therapy that we know will prevent death and progression from these conditions. However, we found that black patients are less likely to receive this therapy than female patients and patients with a lower socioeconomic status. ”

SGLT2 inhibitors are a group of drugs that lower the level of glucose in the blood by blocking the protein that reabsorbs sugar from the urine into the body. They lower the risk of hospitalization for heart failure, lower the risk of death from cardiovascular causes, slow the progression of kidney disease, reduce complications in patients with chronic kidney disease, and are now recommended for all diabetics who are at high risk for these conditions.

In this study, the researchers examined the data from October 2015 to June 2019 of more than 900,000 different commercially insured patients with type 2 diabetes and found that the cumulative percentage of patients treated with SGLT2 inhibitors rose from 3.8 percent to 11 .9 percent rose. However, the analyzes showed that black, Asian, and female patients had lower rates of SGLT2 inhibitors, as well as patients whose median household income was less than $ 50,000. The study also found that usage rates remained low in patients with heart failure, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease.

“These results are in line with previous studies that have shown that there is less use of novel therapies in black patients. Implementation strategies that prioritize not only the provision of policy-based care but also fair policy-based care are critical to ensuring that all patients have access to evidence-based therapies, ”said the study’s lead author. Srinath Adusumalli, MD, MSHP is Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Cardiovascular Medicine Department.

The study found that a visit to an endocrinologist in the past 12 months was one of the most powerful factors associated with SGLT2 inhibitor use, recognizing that the demonstrated clinical benefit was for many non-specialist providers treating patients with diabetes , may not yet be widely known. In addition, marginalized patient populations are likely to have barriers to accessing specialized care. Eberly and her colleagues encourage the development of strategies to increase the convenience of all providers, particularly primary care and cardiology providers, by prescribing this class of drugs.

“If left unaddressed, these inequalities in usage will add to the well-documented disparities in cardiovascular and renal outcomes in the US,” said Eberly.

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