Cardiometabolic & kidneyCohort study
Combination of cardioprotective glucose-lowering drugs and statins on cardiovascular mortality in diabetes: a nationwide cohort study
- Nationwide cohort study
- active comparator cohort design
Authors' conclusion
In individuals with type 2 diabetes, treatment with a combination of cardioprotective glucose-lowering drug and statin was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality than using either drug alone.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals in Denmark with T2DM on metformin monotherapy initiating second-line glucose-lowering therapy, 2012–20211,301 CV deaths
- Participants
- 75,285 individuals
- Exposure
- Cardioprotective glucose-lowering drug (SGLT2 inhibitor or GLP-1 receptor agonist) and/or statin vs DPP-4 inhibitor alone
- Outcome
- CV mortality
- Follow-up
- Mean 3.2 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
Cardioprotective drug and statin vs DPP-4 inhibitor
0.54(0.45–0.65)
DPP-4 inhibitor and statin vs DPP-4 inhibitor
0.73(0.64–0.84)
Cardioprotective drug vs DPP-4 inhibitor
0.67(0.53–0.85)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | HR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| All-cause mortality — Cardioprotective drug and statin vs DPP-4 inhibitor | 0.63 (0.58–0.69) | |
| All-cause mortality — DPP-4 inhibitor and statin vs DPP-4 inhibitor | 0.78 (0.73–0.83) | |
| All-cause mortality — Cardioprotective drug vs DPP-4 inhibitor | 0.77 (0.70–0.86) | |
| ASCVD — Cardioprotective drug and statin vs DPP-4 inhibitor | 0.61 (0.54–0.68) | |
| ASCVD — DPP-4 inhibitor and statin vs DPP-4 inhibitor | 0.72 (0.65–0.78) | |
| ASCVD — Cardioprotective drug vs DPP-4 inhibitor | 0.80 (0.71–0.90) | |
| 0.512Hazard ratio (log scale) |
- All-cause mortality: 5764 deaths
Original publication
Combination of cardioprotective glucose-lowering drugs and statins on cardiovascular mortality in diabetes: a nationwide cohort study. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 24 February 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag085
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it