Introduction: Were the participants of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial representative of patients receiving empagliflozin in clinical practice? The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetes patients starting empagliflozin treatment in routine clinical practice in Sweden.
Methods: We used nationwide data from the Swedish National Diabetes Register (NDR), the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, and the Swedish National Patient Register to provide clinical characteristics and ongoing treatments.
Results: The total study cohort included 460,558 patients, of whom 130,508 (28.3%) had a history of CVD. The number of patients starting empagliflozin during the study period was 16,985. Among these, 1952 (11.5%) had a history of CVD. The patients starting empagliflozin were younger than the total cohort and were more likely to have retinopathy despite having a similar duration of diabetes to the overall cohort. They also exhibited higher BMI, HbA1c, and eGFR, and were more likely to be treated with insulin and lipid-lowering and blood-pressure-lowering medications. The patients with CVD who were starting empagliflozin were slightly older and had been diabetic for slightly longer than the patients without CVD who were starting empagliflozin, but they also had lower eGFR. Among the patients with CVD who were starting empagliflozin, 87% had coronary heart disease, 8% had suffered a stroke, 13% had peripheral artery disease, 16% had atrial fibrillation, and 20% had congestive heart failure.
Conclusion: The prevalence of CVD in patients with type 2 diabetes in clinical practice in Sweden was 28.3% during the study period, and it was 11.5% in the patients starting empagliflozin treatment. Patients of the latter cohort were, however, younger, more obese, and more likely to have unsatisfactory glycemic control, requiring additional treatment. Overall, a large proportion of type 2 diabetes patients should be considered at high cardiovascular risk.
Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim AB, Sweden.
Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Empagliflozin; Prevalence; Type 2 diabetes.