There are racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic disparities apparent in access to SGLT2 inhibitor treatment for patients with diabetes, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Investigators assessed whether there are race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in SGLT2 inhibitor use among US patients with T2D. Data from the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart were used to identify eligible commercially insured patients with diabetes (October 1, 2015, to July 30, 2019). Of the 934,737 identified patients with T2D (mean age, 65.4; 50.7% female; 57.6% White), 8.7% were treated with an SGLT2 inhibitor during the study period. The percentage of patients with T2D treated with an SGLT2 inhibitor increased from 3.8% in 2015 to 11.9% in 2019. The rate of SGLT2 inhibitor use increased among patients with T2D and cardiovascular or kidney disease but was lower than among all patients with T2D. Black race (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.83), Asian race (aOR, 0.94), and female gender (aOR, 0.84) were associated with lower rates of SGLT2 inhibitor use, while there was a higher rate of SGLT2 inhibitor use associated with higher median household income (aORs compared with <$50 000, 1.08 and 1.05 for ≥$100,000 and $50,000 to $99,999, respectively).
