Penn examine finds racial, gender, socioeconomic elements linked to receiving diabetes remedy

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Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine found that racial, gender, and socioeconomic factors are all related to likelihood of receiving proven diabetes treatment.

A study published on JAMA Network Open found that the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, a class of drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes, among Americans with black, Asian, and lower incomes, despite an increase in use Population continues to be low among general residents, Penn Today reported. Current guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration recommend the use of SGLT2 inhibitors to lower blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes patients. The inhibitors induce the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through the urine, according to the FDA.

“One study after another, including large randomized trials, has shown this class of drugs to be cardiovascular and kidney protective,” said Lauren Eberly, Penn Cardiology Fellow and lead study author, told Penn Today.

This study analyzed data from over 900,000 commercially insured patients between October 2015 and June 2019. According to PhillyVoice, the researchers found that SGLT2 inhibitor use increased by 8.1% overall in all type 2 diabetes patients.

Srinath Adusumalli, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, said the study’s results are in line with previous studies that used fewer 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,” Adusumalli told Penn Medicine News.

Penn researchers also found that a lack of access to specialist care for marginalized populations could be another factor, Penn Medicine News reported.

If left unturned, Eberly told Penn Medicine News that these inequalities could add to the well-documented disparities in cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in the United States.

“We know that black patients already have higher rates of heart failure and kidney disease,” Eberly told Penn Medicine News, but we found that black patients are less likely to receive this therapy than female patients and those with lower socioeconomic status. ”