Incretin-based Drugs and the Risk of Heart Failure

NCT ID: NCT02456428

Last Updated: 2016-04-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

1499650 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-03-31

Study Completion Date

2015-05-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this study is to determine whether incretin-based drugs (used to treat type 2 diabetes) taken either alone or in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs are associated with an increased risk of heart failure (HF) compared to other combinations of oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA).

The investigators will carry out separate population based cohort studies using administrative health databases in six jurisdictions in Canada, the US and the UK. Cohorts will be defined by the initiation of a new anti-diabetic drug when incretin-based drugs entered the market, with follow-up until hospitalization for HF. Analyses will be done separately for groups of patients with and without prior HF. The results from the separate sites will be combined to provide an overall assessment of the risk of HF in users of incretin-based drugs and by class of incretin-based drugs.

Detailed Description

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The study objective is to determine whether the use of incretin-based drugs, compared with the use of oral anti-diabetic drug combinations, is associated with an increased risk of heart failure (HF) in routine clinical practice. The investigators will use a common-protocol approach to conduct retrospective cohort studies using administrative health care data from six jurisdictions (the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, as well as the United States (US) MarketScan and the United Kingdom (UK) Clinical Practice Research Datalink \[CPRD\]). Briefly, the Canadian databases include population-level data on physician billing, diagnoses and procedures from hospital discharge abstracts, and dispensations for prescription drugs. Ontario data will be restricted to patients aged 65 years and older as prescription data are not available for younger patients. The CPRD is a clinical database that is representative of the UK population and contains the records for patients seen at over 680 general practitioner practices in the UK; these data will be linked to the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database, which contains in-hospital diagnosis and procedure data. US MarketScan includes individuals and their dependents covered by large U.S. employer health insurance plans, and government and public organizations.

Study population

In each jurisdiction, the investigators will assemble a base cohort that includes all patients with a first-ever prescription for a non-insulin anti-diabetic drug, including biguanides, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, DPP-4 inhibitors, GLP-1 analogs, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinides, or combinations of these drugs from the earliest availability of data at each site to the last date of availability of data. The date of prescription (for the CPRD) or dispensation (for all other sites) of the first-ever non-insulin anti-diabetic drug will define the date of base cohort entry.

From this base cohort, a study cohort will be created including all patients who initiated a new anti-diabetic drug class during the year in which incretin-based drugs entered the market in each jurisdiction or any time thereafter. These new users consist of both those who are newly-treated for diabetes, as well as those who switch to or add on a new anti-diabetic drug class not included as part of their previous treatment history. The date of study cohort entry is defined by the prescription date of the newly-prescribed drug class.

For the purpose of this study, two separate cohorts will be created based on the presence or absence of a history of HF at any time prior to and including the date of study cohort entry. Patients in each cohort will be followed from the date of study cohort entry until an event (defined below) or censoring due to death, departure from the database, loss of continuous health plan or drug plan enrolment, entry into a long-term care facility, an incident diagnosis of HIV or new prescription of HAART, or the end of the study period (June 30, 2014 or the last date of data availability at that site), whichever occurs first.

Case-control selection

The cohorts defined above will be analyzed using a nested case-control analysis, where cases are defined as a hospitalization for HF. Risk set sampling will be used to randomly select up to 20 controls for each case, matched on sex, age (± 365 days), date of study cohort entry (± 180 days), duration of treated diabetes (± 90 days), and duration of follow-up in days.

Exposure assessment

Current exposure to an anti-diabetic drug will be defined as any prescription whose duration plus a 30-day grace period overlaps with the index or event date. Current exposure will be classified hierarchically based on the following five mutually-exclusive categories: 1) incretin-based drugs; 2) insulin; 3) ≥2 oral anti-diabetic drugs used in combination therapy; 4) oral anti-diabetic drug monotherapy; and 5) no current exposure to an anti-diabetic drug. Oral anti-diabetic drugs used in combination will serve as the primary reference category as incretin-based drugs are second- to third-line therapy and thus used at a comparable point in the disease management.

Statistical analyses

All analyses will be conducted separately among patients with and without a history of HF. Conditional logistic regression will be used to estimate the odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the association of hospitalization for HF, comparing current use of incretin-based drugs to oral anti-diabetic drug combinations. This is considered the primary analysis. Secondary analyses will include sub-classifying current users of incretin-based drugs by type (i.e., DPP-4 inhibitor vs GLP-1 analog) and duration of current use (≤ 365 days, 366-729 days, and ≥730 days). The potential presence of effect modification by a history of myocardial infarction (MI) will also be explored. In addition, seven sensitivity analyses will be conducted, all defined a priori, to assess the robustness of the results. Finally, all site-specific estimates will be meta-analyzed using random-effects models with inverse variance weighting, with fixed-effects analyses conducted in the sensitivity analyses. The amount of between-site heterogeneity will be estimated using the I square statistic.

Conditions

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Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

COHORT

Study Time Perspective

RETROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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Treated with incretins

Current use of incretin-based drugs ((DPP-4 inhibitors \[sitagliptin, vildagliptin, and saxagliptin\] or GLP-1 analogs \[exenatide, liraglutide\]) alone or in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs (if the prescription overlaps with the index or event day with a 30-day grace period).

DPP-4 inhibitors

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to DPP-4 inhibitors (ATC A10BH, A10BD07-A10BD13) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

GLP-1 analogs

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to GLP-1 analogs (ATC A10BX04, A10BX07) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Treated with insulin

Current use of insulins between base cohort entry and the index or event day (alone or in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs) and no current use of incretin-based drugs.

Insulins

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to insulin (ATC A10A) will be defined as any use of insulin between base cohort entry and the index day.

Treated with ≥2 oral hypoglycemic agents

Current use of 2 or more non-insulin anti-diabetic medications (biguanides, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinides) (if the prescriptions overlap with the index or event day with a 30-day grace period), and no current use of incretin-based drugs or insulins.

Biguanides

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to biguanides (ATC A10BA) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Sulfonylureas

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to sulfonylureas (ATC A10BB or A10BC) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Thiazolidinediones

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to thiazolidinediones (ATC A10BG) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (ATC A10BF) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Meglitinides

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to meglitinides (ATC A10BX02, A10BX03) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index (event)day.

Treated with single oral agent

Current use of any single non-insulin anti-diabetic medications (biguanides, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinides) (if the prescription overlaps with the index or event day with a 30-day grace period) and no current use of more than 2 OHAs, incretin-based drugs, or insulins.

Biguanides

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to biguanides (ATC A10BA) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Sulfonylureas

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to sulfonylureas (ATC A10BB or A10BC) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Thiazolidinediones

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to thiazolidinediones (ATC A10BG) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (ATC A10BF) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Meglitinides

Intervention Type DRUG

Current exposure to meglitinides (ATC A10BX02, A10BX03) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index (event)day.

Not currently exposed group

All patients not currently exposed to: incretin-based drugs, insulins, ≥2 OHAs, or a single OHA.

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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DPP-4 inhibitors

Current exposure to DPP-4 inhibitors (ATC A10BH, A10BD07-A10BD13) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Intervention Type DRUG

GLP-1 analogs

Current exposure to GLP-1 analogs (ATC A10BX04, A10BX07) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Insulins

Current exposure to insulin (ATC A10A) will be defined as any use of insulin between base cohort entry and the index day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Biguanides

Current exposure to biguanides (ATC A10BA) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Sulfonylureas

Current exposure to sulfonylureas (ATC A10BB or A10BC) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Thiazolidinediones

Current exposure to thiazolidinediones (ATC A10BG) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors

Current exposure to alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (ATC A10BF) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Meglitinides

Current exposure to meglitinides (ATC A10BX02, A10BX03) will be defined as a prescription duration plus a 30-day grace period (to account for non-adherence and the biological half-lives of these drugs) that overlaps with the index (event)day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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incretin-based drugs sitagliptin vildagliptin saxagliptin incretin-based drugs exenatide liraglutide insulins and analogues for injection, fast-acting insulins and analogues for injection, intermediate-acting insulins and analogues for injection, long-acting insulins and analogues for inhalation oral hypoglycemic agent phenformin metformin buformin oral hypoglycemic agent glibenclamide chlorpropamide tolbutamide glibornuride tolazamide carbutamide glipizide gliquidone gliclazide metahexamide glisoxepide glimepiride acetohexamide glymidine oral hypoglycemic agent troglitazone rosiglitazone pioglitazone oral hypoglycemic agent acarbose miglitol voglibose oral hypoglycemic agent repaglinide nateglinide

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Patients with a first-ever prescription for a non-insulin anti-diabetic drug, including biguanides, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, DPP-4 inhibitors, GLP-1 analogs, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinides, or combinations of these drugs from the earliest availability of data at each site to the last date of availability of data.
* Patients with at least 1 year of history in the database.
* Patients at least 18 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients who died or left the cohort before the year the first incretin-based drug entered the market.
* Patients who never added-on or switched to a new anti-diabetic drug after incretin-based drugs entered the market up until June 30, 2014.
* Patients diagnosed with HIV or initiating HAART therapy before and at study cohort entry.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network, Canada

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies, CNODES

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Pierre Ernst, MD, MSc

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital - McGill University

Locations

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Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

References

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Filion KB, Azoulay L, Platt RW, Dahl M, Dormuth CR, Clemens KK, Hu N, Paterson JM, Targownik L, Turin TC, Udell JA, Ernst P; CNODES Investigators. A Multicenter Observational Study of Incretin-based Drugs and Heart Failure. N Engl J Med. 2016 Mar 24;374(12):1145-54. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1506115.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 27007958 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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Q13-06C

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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