Use of glucose-regulating medications may improve outcomes for patients with COVID-19 who have T2D, according to a study published in Diabetes. Researchers used data from a network of 56 large healthcare organizations to assess the relationship between glucose-regulating medications and COVID-19 outcomes. They found that after matching for age, sex, race, ethnicity, BMI, and significant comorbidities, use of glucagonlike peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists and/ or pioglitazone was associated with significant reductions in hospital admissions (GLP-1R: relative risk [RR], 0.67; pioglitazone: RR, 0.71). There was also an association between the use of GLP-1R agonists and reductions in respiratory complications (RR, 0.62) and mortality (RR, 0.58). Similarly, there was an association observed between the use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and a reduction in respiratory complications (RR, 0.82). Continued use of DPP-4 inhibitors after hospitalization was associated with a decrease in mortality versus discontinuation (RR, 0.45).

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