Denmark: Liraglutide and Semaglutide Study

Liraglutide and semaglutide may reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients regardless of their peripheral artery disease (PAD) status, reveals a recent study. The study appears in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

Patients with PAD and type 2 diabetes are shown to be at increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. The analysis by Subodh Verma, St. Michael's Hospital, and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues aimed to evaluate the CV efficacy of liraglutide and semaglutide in patients with T2D and PAD.

Study Details

LEADER and SUSTAIN 6 trials looked into subcutaneous liraglutide (≤1.8 mg/day) and semaglutide (0.5 or 1.0 mg/week), respectively, versus placebo in patients with T2D and high CV risk. They were followed respectively for a median of 3.8 and 2.1 years. Composite of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke (major adverse CV event [MACE]) according to the presence of PAD at baseline was the primary outcome.

Findings

• Overall, 1184/9340 (12.7%) patients in LEADER and 460/3297 (14.0%) in SUSTAIN 6 had PAD at baseline.
• Patients with PAD were at ~35% increased risk of MACE versus those without (LEADER: hazard ratio [HR] 1.36; SUSTAIN 6: HR 1.33).
• The effect of both therapies on MACE was consistently beneficial in patients with PAD (liraglutide: HR 0.77) and without (liraglutide: HR 0.89: HR 0.77 for liraglutide and 0.49 for semaglutide).
• Absolute risk reductions for MACE were higher in patients with PAD (liraglutide: 4.13 %-point; semaglutide: 4.63 %-point) vs without (liraglutide: 1.42 %-point; semaglutide: 1.90 %-point).

To conclude, the GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) liraglutide and semaglutide reduce MACE with consistent CV efficacy regardless of PAD status.

Reference

The study titled, "Cardiovascular efficacy of liraglutide and semaglutide in individuals with diabetes and peripheral artery disease," was published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

DOI: 10.1111/dom.14700

Keywords

Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, major adverse cardiovascular events, MACE, type 2 diabetes, liraglutide, semaglutide, Subodh Verma, GLP-1 receptor agonists, peripheral artery disease, cardiovascular disease, CV events, cardiovascular