Opinion Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Cardiol. Jun 26, 2022; 14(6): 329-342
Published online Jun 26, 2022. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v14.i6.329
Metabolic and cardiovascular benefits with combination therapy of SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists in type 2 diabetes
Awadhesh Kumar Singh, Ritu Singh
Awadhesh Kumar Singh, Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, G.D Hospital and Diabetes Institute, Kolkata 700013, India
Ritu Singh, Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, G.D Hospital and Diabetes Institute, Kolkata 700013, India
Author contributions: Singh AK made conception and design of the study and collected the data; Singh AK and Singh R did the statistical calculations, drafted the manuscript, and revised the manuscript critically; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Awadhesh Kumar Singh, MBBS, MD, PhD, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Intermediate Editor, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Senior Researcher, Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, G.D Hospital and Diabetes Institute, No. 3 Canal Street, Kolkata 700013, India. draksingh_2001@yahoo.com
Received: December 26, 2021
Peer-review started: December 26, 2021
First decision: March 16, 2022
Revised: March 17, 2022
Accepted: May 21, 2022
Article in press: May 21, 2022
Published online: June 26, 2022
Processing time: 176 Days and 4.7 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) plus SGLT-2 inhibitor (SGLT-2I) dual therapy causes a greater reduction in HbA1c, body weight, and systolic blood pressure (SBP), compared to either agent alone with similar adverse events. However, lowering of HbA1c, body weight, and SBP with combination therapy appeared to be less, nearly equal, and more than additive, respectively, compared to the sum of either agent alone. Our meta-analysis from five cardiovascular outcome trials suggests a similar reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events with dual therapy compared to GLP-1RA or SGLT-2I alone, but an additional benefit in heart failure hospitalization is likely. Future trials are needed to confirm these findings.