Combination Therapy with SGLT-2 Inhibitors and GLP-1 Agonists: Are Benefits Additive?

Many clinical guidelines recommend sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors or glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for patients with type 2 diabetes, given that either drug class can improve various meaningful cardiovascular and renal outcomes in high-risk patients. Because they have different mechanisms of action, one could hypothesize that combination therapy would provide additional benefit, but clinical trials have not specifically addressed this question. American Diabetes Association standards of care state that combination therapy “may be considered” for patients with or at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or heart failure (Diabetes Care 2024; 47[Suppl 1]:S179).

In this meta-analysis of 12 r…