Racial and ethnic disparities in the uptake of SGLT2is and GLP-1RAs among Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes and heart failure, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, 2013-2019.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate racial and ethnic disparities in the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor antagonists (GLP-1RAs) among older adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiorenal conditions. Using Medicare fee-for-service data (2013-2019), this retrospective cohort study identified older adults (≥65 years) with type 2 diabetes initiating second-line therapies (SGLT2is, GLP1-RAs, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors [DPP4is] and sulfonylureas [SUs]) with (1) heart failure (HF), (2) atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), (3) chronic kidney disease (CKD) and (4) no recorded cardiorenal conditions. Participants were classified as non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic. Multinomial regressions, adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical and county-level characteristics, were used to model the odds of initiating SGLT2is or GLP-1RAs within each cohort. Black participants with HF, ASCVD, CKD or no recorded cardiorenal conditions had 35% (adjusted OR 0.65 [95% CI 0.61, 0.68]), 33% (0.67 [0.64, 0.69]), 32% (0.68 [0.64, 0.72]) and 24% (0.76 [0.74, 0.79]) lower odds of initiating SGLT2is, respectively, than White participants. Disparities ameliorated from 50-60% lower odds in 2013 to 17-18% in 2019. Similar patterns were observed for GLP-1RA uptake among Black participants. By contrast, Hispanic participants had similar odds of SGLT2i initiation in the HF and CKD cohorts as White participants, but 6% (0.94 [0.91, 0.98]) lower odds in the ASCVD cohort. Notable disparities for Hispanic participants compared with White participants were observed for GLP-1RA uptake in the HF, ASCVD, CKD and no cardiorenal conditions cohorts: 11% (0.89 [0.84, 0.94]), 16% (0.84 [0.81, 0.87]), 16% (0.84 [0.80, 0.89]) and 25% (0.75 [0.72, 0.78]) lower odds, respectively. Participants had greater odds than White participants of initiating DPP4is, which confer no cardiorenal benefits, across all cohorts (HF 1.25 [1.19, 1.31]; ASCVD 1.36 [1.32, 1.40]; CKD 1.32 [1.26, 1.38). Adjustment for social determinants of health did not meaningfully change the study findings. Compared with White participants, disparities in the uptake of SGLT2is were evident for Black participants, and in the uptake of GLP-1RAs for both Black and Hispanic participants. This study highlights how type 2 diabetes management is evolving, while underscoring historical imbalances that have shown signs of abatement.