News: Diabetes medications may ease COPD, report suggests

SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptors—two classes of diabetes medication—were associated with a 14%-19% decreased risk of moderate or severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Typically, according to MedPage Today, a different type of inhibitor, the DPP-4, is utilized for COPD patients; however, in this randomized clinical trial (RCT), the SGLT2 and the GLP-1 receptors fared better than the standard inhibitor.

“This [study] may inform prescribing of glucose-lowering medications among patients with T2D and active COPD, the authors noted in their research article. “However,” they cautioned, “given the observational nature of the study, residual or unmeasured confounding cannot be ruled out.”

An editorial referencing the new study, and cited in MedPage Today, issued a similar sense of skepticism: "While this result is intriguing, we believe it needs to be interpreted cautiously and requires confirmation in future RCTs before being implemented into clinical practice.”

Other limitations to the study included:

• Those using DPP-4 inhibitors were older, more likely to be men, and have more advanced COPD, i.e., the nature of the comparison was uneven
• There was no data provided on changes to patient weight
• There was no data provided on baseline levels of hemoglobin A1c

Editor’s note: To read the JAMA Internal Medicine study, click here. To read the MedPage Today study, click here. To read the JAMA editorial, click here.