People with type 2 diabetes are more likely to get kidney stones, but new research shows that a certain type of diabetes medicine may help lower that risk.
A team of doctors and scientists from Mass General Brigham, which includes Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, studied this link and published their results in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
Kidney stones are becoming more common in the U.S. and around the world. These hard lumps can form in the kidneys and cause a lot of pain. People with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk of getting them.
But researchers found that a group of medicines called SGLT2 inhibitors, used to treat type 2 diabetes, may help prevent kidney stones.
The researchers looked at the health records of over 716,000 adults with type 2 diabetes across the U.S. They used information from three large national databases. These people were either taking SGLT2 inhibitors or two other common types of diabetes medicine: GLP1 receptor agonists and DPP4 inhibitors.
They found that people who were taking SGLT2 inhibitors had a 30% lower chance of getting kidney stones compared to those taking GLP1 receptor agonists.
Compared to those on DPP4 inhibitors, the risk was about 25% lower. These results were the same no matter the person’s sex, race, or whether they had kidney disease or were overweight.
Dr. Julie Paik, the lead author of the study, works in the kidney medicine and drug safety departments at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She said that this research may help doctors choose the best treatment for patients with diabetes, especially if they are likely to get kidney stones.
In summary, while type 2 diabetes increases the risk of kidney stones, SGLT2 inhibitors may offer a helpful bonus by lowering that risk. This information could help doctors and patients make more informed decisions when choosing a diabetes treatment.
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The study is published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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