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Effectiveness of Empagliflozin vs Dapagliflozin for Kidney Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes

K. Bonnesen, U. Heide-Jørgensen, D. Christensen, C. F. Christiansen, T. Lash, Sean Hennessy, Anthony A. Matthews, L. Pedersen et al.

JAMA Internal Medicine, 2025

32 participants · 15 citations

Abstract

Importance

No large randomized clinical trial has directly compared empagliflozin with dapagliflozin, leaving their comparative effectiveness regarding kidney outcomes unknown.

Objective

To compare kidney outcomes between initiation of empagliflozin vs dapagliflozin in adults with type 2 diabetes who were receiving antihyperglycemic treatment.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This target trial emulation used nationwide, population-based routinely collected Danish health care data to compare initiation of empagliflozin vs dapagliflozin in adults with type 2 diabetes who received antihyperglycemic treatment between June 1, 2014, and October 31, 2020. Data were analyzed from October 2023 to August 2024. Persons were followed up until an outcome, emigration, death, 6 years, or December 31, 2021, whichever occurred first.

Exposure

Initiation of empagliflozin vs dapagliflozin.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Outcomes included acute kidney injury, incident chronic kidney disease (stages G3 to G5 or stage A2 or A3), and progression of chronic kidney disease (≥40% decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate from baseline). Risks of kidney outcomes were estimated in intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses using an Aalen-Johansen estimator that adjusted for 56 potential confounders and considered death as a competing event.

Results

A total of 32 819 individuals who initiated treatment with empagliflozin and 17 464 with dapagliflozin were included (median [IQR] age, 63 [54-71]…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 32 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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