Introduction: People with type 2 diabetes have increased risk of dementia. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (RAs) are among the promising therapies for repurposing as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease; a key unanswered question is whether they reduce dementia incidence in people with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: We assessed exposure to GLP-1 RAs in patients with type 2 diabetes and subsequent diagnosis of dementia in two large data sources with long-term follow-up: pooled data from three randomized double-blind placebo-controlled cardiovascular outcome trials (15,820 patients) and a nationwide Danish registry-based cohort (120,054 patients).
Results: Dementia rate was lower both in patients randomized to GLP-1 RAs versus placebo (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.47 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.25-0.86) and in the nationwide cohort (HR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.86-0.93 with yearly increased exposure to GLP-1 RAs).
Discussion: Treatment with GLP-1 RAs may provide a new opportunity to reduce the incidence of dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Keywords: dementia; glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists; randomized controlled trial; real‐world evidence; type 2 diabetes.
© 2022 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.