Liraglutide Effectiveness in Type 2 Diabetes: Insights from a Real-World Cohort of Portuguese Patients
José Silva-Nunes,
Edite Nascimento,
Joana Louro,
Jorge Dores,
Teresa Laginha,
Ana Gonçalves-Ferreira,
Marta Alves,
Selma B. Souto,
Nelson Cunha,
Elsa Pina,
Rui Duarte,
João Filipe Raposo
Affiliations
José Silva-Nunes
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Curry Cabral Hospital—Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, 1050-099 Lisboa, Portugal
Edite Nascimento
Department of Internal Medicine, Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, 3504-509 Viseu, Portugal
Joana Louro
Department of Internal Medicine, Centro Hospitalar do Oeste, 2500-176 Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
Jorge Dores
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, 4099-001 Porto, Portugal
Teresa Laginha
Diabetes Clinic, Associação Protetora dos Diabéticos de Portugal (APDP), 1250-189 Lisboa, Portugal
Ana Gonçalves-Ferreira
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Garcia de Orta Hospital, 2805-267 Almada, Portugal
Marta Alves
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Hospital de Braga, 4710-243 Braga, Portugal
Selma B. Souto
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, 4099-001 Porto, Portugal
Nelson Cunha
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, 3000-075 Coimbra, Portugal
Elsa Pina
Department of Internal Medicine, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve, 8000-386 Faro, Portugal
Rui Duarte
Diabetes Clinic, Associação Protetora dos Diabéticos de Portugal (APDP), 1250-189 Lisboa, Portugal
João Filipe Raposo
NOVA Medical School, New University of Lisbon, 1169-056 Lisboa, Portugal
Liraglutide is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist prescribed to diabetic patients for glycaemic control. To understand the impact of liraglutide in the real-world setting, this study analysed its effects in a Portuguese cohort of Type 2 diabetes patients. This was an observational, multicentric, and retrospective study that included 191 liraglutide-treated patients with at least 12 months of treatment. Patients’ data were collected and analysed during a 24-month follow-up period. Overall, liraglutide treatment effectively reduced HbA1c levels from 8.3% to around 7.5%, after 6, 12, and 24 months (p < 0.001). In fact, 38.2%, 37.2%, and 44.8% of patients at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively, experienced an HbA1c reduction of at least 1%. Moreover, a persistent reduction in anthropometric features was also observed, with 44.0%, 47.6%, and 54.4% of patients achieving a weight reduction of at least 3% at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Finally, significant improvements were observed in the HDL-c and LDL-c levels. Our results demonstrate that liraglutide effectively promoted the reduction of HbA1c values during routine clinical practice, which was sustained throughout the study. In addition, there were significant improvements in anthropometric parameters and other cardiovascular risk factors.
