Sulfonylureas and Cardiovascular Outcomes — A Real-World Study

For patients with type 2 diabetes and inadequate glycemic control who receive metformin monotherapy, sulfonylureas are an inexpensive add-on treatment. However, concerns about their cardiovascular (CV) safety are one reason for their declining use.

Using a national registry of all patients with type 2 diabetes, researchers in Scotland identified 20,000 patients (age range, 40–85) who added sulfonylureas to metformin between 2010 and 2017. Their CV outcomes were compared with those of 10,000 patients who added dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and 2000 who added thiazolidinediones. To address potential confounding in this observational study, the researchers used both conventional multivariable analyses and an additional tool called “…