1269-PUB: Evaluating the Response to GLP-1 Agonists in Veterans with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Purpose: To delineate which factors help predict whether a patient is likely to respond or not respond to treatment with a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist. Methods: The medical records for veterans with type 2 diabetes mellitus who began treatment with any GLP-1 agonist at the Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care system from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019, were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics and baseline objective data were collected at treatment onset. Defined decreases in hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), body weight, and insulin dose over a minimum 6-month period were used to identify responders and nonresponders. Associations between categorical variables and response status were assessed using Chi-Square tests or Fisher’s exact tests, and Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests were used to examine differences in distributions of variables of interest between response status groups. Results: Of the 55 veterans evaluated during the study period, forty-two subjects (78%) responded to treatment with a GLP-1 agonist whereas twelve subjects (22%) did not respond. The median baseline HbA1c of those who responded was 8.7 (IQR: 8.3, 10.0) compared to 8.1 (IQR: 7.6, 8.8) for those who did not respond (p = 0.03). Among patients with peripheral neuropathy, 88.5% responded while only 65.5% of those without peripheral neuropathy responded (p = 0.046). Conclusion: We demonstrate that a response to GLP-1 agonist treatment was associated with a higher baseline HbA1C and the presence of peripheral neuropathy. These findings warrant future multivariate analyses of a larger cohort to determine the ideal candidates for GLP-1 agonist therapy. Disclosure B. A. Begley: None. C. Desouza: Advisory Panel; Self; Bayer AG, Novo Nordisk, Consultant; Self; AstraZeneca. V. Shivaswamy: Research Support; Self; Eli Lilly and Company, Kowa Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk. K. Samson: None. E. Silverman: None.