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Comparison of the renal outcomes of novel antidiabetic agents in patients with type 2 diabetes with chronic kidney disease: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Lin R, Hsu CL, Shih MC, Chien KL, Wu HY

Diabetes, obesity & metabolism, 2026

80,670 participants · 4 citations

Abstract

AIMS: To investigate the renal outcomes of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, and sodium-glucose transport protein-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with chronic renal disease (CKD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched through July 2025 for randomized controlled trials with ≥24 weeks of follow-up in patients with T2DM and CKD. Outcomes included composite renal outcome, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR). A network meta-analysis was conducted, and the certainty of evidence was assessed with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation used to evaluate evidence certainty (GRADE).

RESULTS: Twenty RCTs enrolling 80,670 participants were included. Compared with placebo, several agents significantly reduced composite renal outcomes, with dapagliflozin 10 mg showing the greatest efficacy (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.72; high-certainty evidence), followed by canagliflozin, empagliflozin, efpeglenatide, sotagliflozin 400 mg, semaglutide, and dulaglutide 1.5 mg. Canagliflozin 100-300 mg significantly reduced UACR, whereas dapagliflozin had no effect. None of the novel antidiabetic agents significantly altered eGFR. Certainty of evidence ranged from high for placebo-controlled comparisons to low or very low for indirect estimates.

CONCLUSIONS: In patients…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 80,670 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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