Risk of acute kidney injury in dapagliflozin users with type 2 diabetes: A nationwide propensity score-matched cohort study in Korea

Background: Several previous studies have identified a potential risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, based on adverse event reports. However, recent European observational studies have shown conflicting results. Objective: To evaluate the risk of AKI in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) who were treated with dapagliflozin compared with sitagliptin. Method: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients with T2DM who were newly prescribed dapagliflozin or sitagliptin between September 1, 2014, and June 30, 2021, using the nationwide National Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) Service database in Korea. Propensity scores were estimated using a multivariable logistic regression model, and matching was performed at a 1:1 ratio to balance the dapagliflozin and sitagliptin groups. The outcome of interest was the occurrence of AKI hospitalization 90 days post-exposure, captured by a validated algorithm based on the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) code: N17. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Among 94,977 dapagliflozin users matched to sitagliptin users, AKI events occurred in 132 dapagliflozin users versus 198 sitagliptin users, with incidence rates of 2.92 and 8.93 per 1000 person-years, respectively. The risk of AKI events was 34% lower in dapagliflozin users (HR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.53–0.83) compared with sitagliptin users. This protective effect remained consistent in sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: Contrary to the United States Food and Drug Administration's safety warning, our findings suggest that dapagliflozin may have a protective effect against AKI in patients with T2DM. This is consistent with recent findings from European post-marketing safety studies and may serve as supportive evidence.