A new study from South Korea has found that a common type of diabetes medicine may offer an unexpected benefit: a lower risk of autoimmune diseases.
The research focused on a class of drugs called SGLT-2 inhibitors, which are used to treat type 2 diabetes.
These medications not only help control blood sugar but may also reduce the chances of developing serious conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Autoimmune diseases happen when the body’s immune system, which is supposed to fight off germs, mistakenly attacks its own healthy tissues.
This can lead to swelling, pain, and damage in places like the joints, skin, muscles, and even major organs.
Common autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma. These conditions are often long-lasting and can be difficult to treat.
Scientists have known that SGLT-2 inhibitors can affect the immune system, but it wasn’t clear whether this had any real benefit for preventing diseases. To explore this further, researchers from South Korea studied health records from over two million adults with type 2 diabetes.
The data came from the Korea National Health Insurance Service and included people who began taking either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or another type of diabetes drug called a sulfonylurea between 2012 and 2022.
The average age of the participants was 59, and about 60% were men. The researchers looked at a wide range of factors that could affect the results, such as age, sex, income, other health conditions, medication history, healthcare visits, and lifestyle habits.
They also checked for certain common side effects of the drugs, such as infections, to make sure their findings weren’t being influenced by hidden biases.
Out of all the people studied, 790 who were taking SGLT-2 inhibitors and 840 who were taking sulfonylureas were newly diagnosed with an autoimmune rheumatic disease.
After an average of nine months of follow-up, the researchers found that those taking SGLT-2 inhibitors had an 11% lower risk of developing an autoimmune condition. This was based on the number of new cases per 100,000 people per year: 52 for SGLT-2 inhibitors and 58 for sulfonylureas.
The results were similar across different groups of people—no matter their age, sex, or whether they had other conditions like heart disease or obesity. This suggests the findings may apply broadly across many types of patients.
It’s important to remember that this was an observational study. That means it can show a link between the diabetes drug and lower risk of autoimmune disease, but it cannot prove that one causes the other. Also, the average follow-up time was relatively short, so it’s unclear if the benefits last over many years.
Still, the researchers believe the results are meaningful because of the large number of people involved and the careful methods used to analyze the data. They say that while more research is needed, SGLT-2 inhibitors might offer an added benefit for people with type 2 diabetes.
Experts from Canada who reviewed the study say this is the first major report to suggest such a link. They believe the findings are interesting and deserve more attention.
While this one study won’t change how doctors treat diabetes overnight, it opens the door for future studies to learn more. It could also offer doctors and patients another reason to consider SGLT-2 inhibitors over other diabetes medications like sulfonylureas.
In conclusion, this research provides early evidence that a diabetes drug may help protect against certain autoimmune diseases.
More studies are needed to confirm the results, especially in people from different countries and those who already have autoimmune conditions. But for now, it offers a promising glimpse into how one medicine might help with more than just blood sugar control.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about The hidden connection between cancer and diabetes uncovered and findings of Scientists find the best way to help people with diabetes lose weight.
For more about diabetes, please read studies about Widely prescribed drug may increase sudden cardiac arrest risk in people with diabetes and findings of These common drugs linked to sudden cardiac arrest in people with type 2 diabetes.
The study is published in BMC Nutrition.
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