Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors and susceptibility toCOVID-19: A population-based retrospective cohort study

Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are widely prescribed in people with type 2 diabetes. We aimed to investigate whether SGLT2 inhibitor prescription is associated with COVID-19, when compared with an active comparator. We performed a propensity-score-matched cohort study with active comparators and a negative control outcome in a large UK-based primary care dataset. Participants prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors (n = 9948) and a comparator group prescribed dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors (n = 14 917) were followed up from January 30 to July 27, 2020. The primary outcome was confirmed or clinically suspected COVID-19. The incidence rate of COVID-19 was 19.7/1000 person-years among users of SGLT2 inhibitors and 24.7/1000 person-years among propensity-score-matched users of DPP-4 inhibitors. The adjusted hazard ratio was 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.66 to 1.29), and there was no evidence of residual confounding in the negative control analysis. We did not observe an increased risk of COVID-19 in primary care amongst those prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors compared to DPP-4 inhibitors, suggesting that clinicians may safely use these agents in the everyday care of people with type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Automated summary

The study found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no increased risk of COVID-19 among individuals with type 2 diabetes prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors compared to those prescribed DPP-4 inhibitors.