Hirose N, Tsujimoto N, Katayose T, et al. - Over the past decade, an increase in the utilization of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) has been witnessed, and GLP-1 RAs have been employed in cases with limited treatment choices, such as the elderly or those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The persistence proportion of GLP-1 RAs was not low in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) cases with CKD, and GLP-1 RA initiation may moderate renal dysfunction.

• In this retrospective descriptive study in Japan, nationwide electronic medical record databases were used to study 8,049 patients with GLP-1 RA prescriptions between June 2010 and October 2019.

• An increase in the proportion of T2DM patients starting GLP-1 RAs was observed from 1.5% in 2010 to 3.3% in 2019, over the study period.

• In addition, the mean (95% confidence interval) of baseline age and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was from 58.6 (56.7, 60.4) to 66.3 (65.5, 67.2) years and 72.9 (68.0, 77.9) to 64.0 (62.2, 65.8) mL/min/1.73m ² , respectively.

• At 12 months, persistence proportion was estimated to be 49.5% overall, 37.8% and 34.6% in CKD cases with baseline eGFR<30 mL/min/1.73m ² and in those receiving dialysis, respectively.

• Decrease in renal function deterioration rate was evident after GLP-1 RA initiation.