Sitagliptin Seems as Safe as Other Diabetes Drugs
The dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor sitagliptin (Januvia), approved to treat type 2 diabetes in 2006, appears to be as safe as other diabetes drugs, according to a retrospective cohort study in BMJ.
Using a large U.S. database, researchers studied nearly 73,000 adults who began oral medications for diabetes from 2004 through 2009; about 10% used sitagliptin, usually in combination with other drugs.
During a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, all-cause hospital admission or death occurred in 20% of all patients. After multivariable adjustment, risk was similar in sitagliptin users and nonusers, even in analyses limited to those with ischemic heart disease or reduced kidney function. In addition, the authors write, there were “no safety ‘signals’ related to cardiovascular related hospital admissions or death, supporting the premise that sitagliptin seems to be safe in patients with diabetes.”