Poster Presentation

Dapagliflozin and empagliflozin ameliorate hepatic dysfunction among Chinese subjects with diabetes in part through glycaemic improvement

Dr Gu Yunjuan
Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University

Abstract

Background

Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve hepatic dysfunction, although there is paucity of studies looking at their underlying mechanisms, especially among Chinese subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Here, we investigated the relationship between the amelioration of hepatic dysfunction and the improvement of various metabolic parameters among Chinese subjects with T2DM.

Methods

This was a single centered, retrospective, observational study that involved 115 Chinese subjects with T2DM who were started on either dapagliflozin or empagliflozin for at least 6 months between July 2016 and Feb 2017.

Results

Amongst the 115 subjects included in this study (69 dapagliflozin and 46 empagliflozin), after 6 months of treatment, their body weight, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) all improved significantly. Subjects also had significant reduction in their ALT levels from 40.3±28.0 U/L to 29.0±14.1 U/L (p<0.001). In Spearman correlation analysis, these changes in ALT levels after SGLT2i correlated positively with body weight (p = 0.007), ALT (p<0.001) and eGFR levels (p = 0.014) at baseline, and change in fasting glucose (r = 0.272; p = 0.005) and HbA1c (r = 0.218; p = 0.015) over 6 months but not with change in body weight, SBP nor eGFR levels.

Conclusions

Dapagliflozin and empagliflozin improved both metabolic and hepatic dysfunction among Chinese subjects with T2DM. The amelioration of hepatic dysfunction was in part through alleviation of hyperglycaemia and also possibly improvement in insulin resistance, independent of body weight reduction.