Endocrinol Metab.  2024 Jun;39(3):479-488. 10.3803/EnM.2023.1857.

Impact of Antidiabetic Drugs on Clinical Outcomes of COVID-19: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

• Jang HN
• Moon SJ
• Jung JH
• Han KD
• Rhee EJ
• Lee WY

• KMID: 2556640
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2023.1857

Abstract

Background
Inconsistent results have been reported regarding the association between the use of antidiabetic drugs and the clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to investigate the effect of antidiabetic drugs on COVID-19 outcomes in patients with diabetes using data from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in South Korea.
Methods
We analyzed the NHIS data of patients aged ≥20 years who tested positive for COVID-19 and were taking antidiabetic drugs between December 2019 and June 2020. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 based on the use of antidiabetic drugs.
Results
A total of 556 patients taking antidiabetic drugs tested positive for COVID-19, including 271 male (48.7%), most of whom were in their sixties. Of all patients, 433 (77.9%) were hospitalized, 119 (21.4%) received oxygen treatment, 87 (15.6%) were admitted to the intensive care unit, 31 (5.6%) required mechanical ventilation, and 61 (11.0%) died. Metformin was significantly associated with the lower risks of mechanical ventilation (odds ratio [OR], 0.281; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.109 to 0.720; P=0.008), and death (OR, 0.395; 95% CI, 0.182 to 0.854; P=0.018). Dipeptidylpeptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i) were significantly associated with the lower risks of oxygen treatment (OR, 0.565; 95% CI, 0.356 to 0.895; P=0.015) and death (OR, 0.454; 95% CI, 0.217 to 0.949; P=0.036). Sulfonylurea was significantly associated with the higher risk of mechanical ventilation (OR, 2.579; 95% CI, 1.004 to 6.626; P=0.049).
Conclusion
In patients with diabetes and COVID-19, metformin exhibited reduced risks of mechanical ventilation and death, DPP- 4i was linked with lower risks of oxygen treatment and death, while sulfonylurea was related to the increased risk of mechanical ventilation.

Keyword

SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Clinical outcome; Metformin; Dipeptidylpeptidase-4 inhibitor; Sulfonylurea

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Study subjects. NHIS, National Health Insurance Service; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019.

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