Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The risk of developing coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure, and overall mortality, in type 2 diabetic patients receiving rosiglitazone, pioglitazone, metformin, or sulfonylureas: a retrospective analysis

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Acta Diabetologica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Oral anti-diabetic agents have been associated with adverse cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes (DM2). We investigated the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure (CHF), and mortality using multivariable Cox models in a retrospective cohort of 20,450 DM2 patients from our electronic health record (EHR). We observed no differences in CAD risk among the agents. Metformin was associated with a reduced risk of CHF (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64–0.91) and mortality (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.46–0.64) when compared to sulfonylurea. Pioglitazone was also associated with a lower risk of mortality when compared to sulfonylurea (HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.43–0.81). No other significant differences were found between the oral agents. In conclusions, our results did not identify an increased CAD risk with rosiglitazone in clinical practice. However, the results do reinforce a possible increased risk of adverse events in DM2 patients prescribed sulfonylureas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. The University Group Diabetes Program (1975) A study of the effects of hypoglycemic agents on vascular complications in patients with adult-onset diabetes. V. Evaluation of pheniformin therapy. Diabetes 24(Suppl 1):65–184

    Google Scholar 

  2. UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group (1998) Intensive blood-glucose control with sulphonylureas or insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 33). Lancet 352(9131):837–853

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group (1998) Effect of intensive blood–glucose control with metformin on complications in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 34). Lancet 352(9131):854–865

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Nissen SE, Wolski K (2007) Effect of rosiglitazone on the risk of myocardial infarction and death from cardiovascular causes. N Engl J Med 356(24):2457–2471

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. GlaxoSmithKline (2007) Study no. ZM2005/00181/01: Avandia Cardiovascular Event Modeling Project. Available at: http://ctr.gsk.co.uk/Summary/Rosiglitazone/III_CVmodeling.pdf. Accessed 15 Sept 2007

  6. Singh S, Loke YK, Furberg CD (2007) Long-term risk of cardiovascular events with rosiglitazone: a meta-analysis. JAMA 298(10):1189–1195

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Lipscombe LL, Gomes T, Levesque LE et al (2007) Thiazolidinediones and cardiovascular outcomes in older patients with diabetes. JAMA 298(22):2634–2643

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Home PD, Pocock SJ, Beck-Nielsen H et al (2007) Rosiglitazone evaluated for cardiovascular outcomes––an interim analysis. N Engl J Med 357(1):28–38

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. McAfee AT, Koro C, Landon J et al (2007) Coronary heart disease outcomes in patients receiving antidiabetic agents. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 16(7):711–725

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Dormandy JA, Charbonnel B, Eckland DJ et al (2005) Secondary prevention of macrovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes in the PROactive Study (PROspective pioglitAzone Clinical Trial In macroVascular Events): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 366(9493):1279–1289

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Lincoff AM, Wolski K, Nicholls SJ et al (2007) Pioglitazone and risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. JAMA 298(10):1180–1188

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Nissen SE, Nicholls SJ, Wolski K et al (2008) Comparison of pioglitazone vs glimepiride on progression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes: the PERISCOPE randomized controlled trial. JAMA 299(13):1561–1573

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Gerstein HC, Yusuf S, Bosch J et al, DREAM (Diabetes REduction Assessment with ramipril and rosiglitazone Medication) Trial Investigators (2006) Effect of rosiglitazone on the frequency of diabetes in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 368 (9541):1096–1105

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kahn SE, Haffner SM, Heise MA et al (2006) Glycemic durability of rosiglitazone, metformin, or glyburide monotherapy. N Engl J Med 355(23):2427–2443

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lago RM, Singh PP, Nesto RW (2007) Congestive heart failure and cardiovascular death in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes given thiazolidinediones: a meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials. Lancet 370(9593):1129–1136

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Maru S, Koch GG, Stender M et al (2005) Antidiabetic drugs and heart failure risk in patients with type 2 diabetes in the UK primary care setting. Diabetes Care 28(1):20–26

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Koro CE, Bowlin SJ, Weiss SR (2005) Antidiabetic therapy and the risk of heart failure in type 2 diabetic patients: an independent effect or confounding by indication. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 14(10):697–703

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Johnson JA, Majumdar SR, Simpson SH et al (2002) Decreased mortality associated with the use of metformin compared with sulfonylurea monotherapy in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 25(12):2244–2248

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Bell DS (2006) Do sulfonylurea drugs increase the risk of cardiac events? CMAJ 174(2):185–186

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Krentz AJ (2003) Sulfonylureas in the prevention of vascular complications: from UKPDS to ADVANCE study. Int Congr Ser 1253:261–277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Monami M, Balzi D, Lamanna C, Barchielli A, Masotti G, Buiatti E, Marchionni N, Mannucci E (2007) Are sulphonylureas all the same? A cohort study on cardiovascular and cancer-related mortality. Diabetes Metab Res Rev 23(6):479–484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Monami M, Luzzi C, Lamanna C, Chiasserini V, Addante F, Desideri CM, Masotti G, Marchionni N, Mannucci E (2006) Three-year mortality in diabetic patients treated with different combinations of insulin secretagogues and metformin. Diabetes Metab Res Rev 22(6):477–482

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Evans JM, Ogston SA, Reimann F, Gribble FM, Morris AD, Pearson ER (2008) No differences in mortality between users of pancreatic-specific and non-pancreatic-specific sulphonylureas: a cohort analysis. Diabetes Obes Metab 10(4):350–352

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The study was supported through a research grant from Astra Zeneca (Dr. Kattan). Dr. Michael W. Kattan had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Conflict of interest statement

R.S. Zimmerman Consultancies: Daiichi Sankyo, Merck, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, and GlaxoSmithKline. Grants received: Michael W. Kattan, Anil Jain, and Ashish Atreja (Astra Zeneca). Dr. Kevin Pantalone, Dr. Brian Wells, Changhong Yu, and Susana Arrigain report no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin M. Pantalone.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4

Table 4 Definitions and ICD-9 codes for baseline and measured cardiovascular outcomes

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pantalone, K.M., Kattan, M.W., Yu, C. et al. The risk of developing coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure, and overall mortality, in type 2 diabetic patients receiving rosiglitazone, pioglitazone, metformin, or sulfonylureas: a retrospective analysis. Acta Diabetol 46, 145–154 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-008-0090-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-008-0090-3

Keywords

Navigation