Effects of dapagliflozin on body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Evidence‑based practice

Abstract

The dose-dependent pharmacological response to dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with regard to weight loss remain unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of dapagliflozin on weight loss in patients with T2DM. A total of 8,545 patients with T2DM from 24 randomized controlled trials reported in the literature were selected for inclusion in the study. Data from these trials were analyzed using maximal effect (E max ) models with nonlinear mixed effects modeling; the evaluation index was the body weight change rate from baseline values. Patients treated with 2.5 mg/day dapagliflozin exhibited an E max of -3.04%, and the time taken for therapy to reach half of the E max (ET 50 ) was estimated to be 30.8 weeks for patients treated with this dose. Patients treated with 5, 10 and 20 mg/day dapagliflozin exhibited E max values of -6.57, -4.12 and -3.23%, respectively, and their ET 50 values were estimated to be 27.3, 20.4 and 4.23 weeks, respectively. The data indicated ideal linear relationships between individual predictions and observations, suggesting the optimal fitting of the final models. The present study is the first systematic analysis of the effect of dapagliflozin on weight loss in patients with T2DM. The application of dapagliflozin at 5 mg/day exhibited a greater weight loss effect compared with the other doses used, and the weight loss onset time shortened as the dose of dapagliflozin increased.