Patients with type 2 diabetes and COPD are up to 20% less likely to experience respiratory exacerbations when treated with SGLT-2 inhibitors or GLP-1 receptor agonists, according to results from a large US study.

A Harvard University team used data from insurance claims databases to emulate a head-to-head comparison of SLGT-2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs) and DPP-4 inhibitors for COPD exacerbations.

The total cohort included nearly 394,000 patients (mean age 70) with type 2 diabetes and active COPD who were followed for an average of 145 days.

In comparison to DPP-4 inhibitors, those taking SGLT-2 inhibitors had a 19% lower risk of moderate or severe exacerbations, defined as an oral glucocorticoid prescription and outpatient visit for COPD or hospitalisation for COPD, respectively.