Cardiometabolic & kidneyResearch article
Vagal activity-related events and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists
- nationwide cohorts
- Danish health registers
- active control
Authors' conclusion
In nationwide cohorts of patients treated for T2DM or obesity, initiation of GLP-1 RA was not associated with an elevated risk of VAR events. Despite a proposed argumentation of vagal activity, GLP-1 RA use was not associated with an increased risk in real-life users.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) first-time initiated on GLP-1 RAs or SGLT-2i, January 2010 to October 2022; complementary analyses in patients treated for obesityGLP-1 RA (T2DM) 50,076 · SGLT-2i (T2DM) 73,138
- Participants
- 50,076 vs 73,138
- Comparison
- GLP-1 RA and SGLT-2i initiation
- GLP-1 RAn = 50,076
- SGLT-2in = 73,138
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Syncope · 1 year
Further findings
| Outcome | standardized risk ratio (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fractures, bradyarrhythmia, cardiac device implantation · 1 year · fractures | 0.90 (0.79–1.01) | |
| Fractures, bradyarrhythmia, cardiac device implantation · 1 year · bradyarrhythmia | 0.97 (0.67–1.28) | |
| Fractures, bradyarrhythmia, cardiac device implantation · 1 year · cardiac device implantation | 0.86 (0.62–1.10) | |
| 0.512Standardized risk ratio (log scale) |
Baseline characteristics GLP-1 RA median age 59 years (IQR 50–68) · SGLT-2i median age 64 years (IQR 55–72)
women
Vagal activity-related (VAR) events in the group treated for obesity
- No associations were found in the group treated for obesity either
Baseline characteristics
- Comorbidity was equally prevalent
Original publication
Vagal activity-related events and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Pharmacother. Published 8 September 2026. doi:10.1093/ehjcvp/pvag072
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it