Real-world effectiveness of liraglutide in children with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Abstract Importance Since liraglutide's approval for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in children, no real-world studies have examined its clinical outcomes in adolescents. Objective Compare hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) changes in adolescents with T2D taking liraglutide in a clinical setting. Design Retrospective cohort study from 2020 to 2023. Participants Patients with T2D ages <18 years who were prescribed liraglutide. Patients were divided into 2 groups: treated (those with evidence of taking liraglutide for ≥26 weeks) and control (those prescribed but who did not take liraglutide). Main outcomes Changes in HbA1c after 26 weeks of treatment were calculated. Secondary outcomes included HbA1c changes after 52 weeks, and body mass index (BMI) z score changes and lipid markers at 26 and/or 52 weeks. Results There was a strong trend toward a decrease in HbA1c after 26 weeks of liraglutide treatment compared with control (−0.40 [−1.90, 0.20] vs +0.15 [−1.30, 0.88], P = .064; n = 85 vs n = 30); no difference was observed at 52 weeks (−0.20 [−1.23,0.93] vs 0.50 [−1.13,1.70], P = .15; n = 100 vs n = 44). BMI z score was stable in both groups, with no differences between groups. Lipid levels were available in a small subset of patients. The liraglutide-treated group had a decrease in total cholesterol (−0.21 [−0.60, 0.16] mmol/L vs 0.49 [0.06, 0.76] mmol/L, P = .005; n = 36 vs n = 12) and low-density lipoprotein (−0.23 [−0.56, 0.16] mmol/L vs 0.35 [0.14, 0.63] mmol/L, P < .01; n = 31 vs n = 12) vs control. Conclusion Liraglutide shows potential benefits for lowering HbA1c and cholesterol in children with T2D in a clinical setting. Additional work is needed to understand how to optimize HbA1c improvements with liraglutide.