Asian, Black, Hispanic, and low-income patients less likely to receive treatment with a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist for T2DM<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) increased during the past five years but remains low among patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online Dec. 17 in JAMA Health Forum<\/em>.<\/p>\n Lauren A. Eberly, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues used data from OptumInsight Clinformatics Data Mart to evaluate GLP-1 RA uptake among 1,180,260 commercially insured patients with type 2 diabetes to identify associations between race, ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status and GLP-1 RA use.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 7.7 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes were treated with a GLP-1 RA between Oct. 1, 2015, and June 30, 2019. During the study period, the percentage of patients treated with a GLP-1 RA increased from 3.2 to 10.7 percent. Use also increased but remained low among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (2.8 to 9.4 percent). Lower rates of GLP-1 RA use were found among Asian (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.59), Black (aOR, 0.81), and Hispanic (aOR, 0.91) patients with type 2 diabetes. Higher GLP-1 RA use was seen among women (aOR, 1.22) and higher ZIP code-linked median household incomes (ORs, 1.13 and 1.07, respectively, for >$100,000 and $50,000 to $99,999 versus <$50,000).<\/p>\n “The findings of this cohort study suggest that racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities are present in access to GLP-1 RA, a medication with established benefits for improved cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetes,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to medical and pharmaceutical companies. <\/p>\n