Aims
GLP-1RA has many beneficial properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-obesogenic, pulmonary protective effects as well as beneficial impact on gut microbiome. However, the evidence regarding the benefit of GLP-1RA in Covid-19 patients with diabetes is still unclear. This study sought to analyze the benefit of pre-admission use of GLP-1RA in altering the mortality outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients with diabetes mellitus.
Methods
Using specific keywords, we comprehensively searched the potential articles on PubMed, Europe PMC, and medRxiv database until June 12
th
, 2021. All published studies on Covid-19 and GLP-1RA were retrieved. Statistical analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4 and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3 software.
Results
A total of 9 studies with 19,660 diabetes mellitus patients who were infected by SARS-CoV-2 were included in the meta-analysis. Our data suggested that pre-admission use of GLP-1RA was associated with reduction in mortality rate from Covid-19 in patients with diabetes mellitus (OR 0.53; 95%CI: 0.43 – 0.66,
p
<0.00001,
I
2
= 0%, random-effect modelling). Further analysis showed that the associations were not influenced by age (
p
=0.213), gender (p=0.421), hypertension (p=0.131), cardiovascular disease (p=0.293), nor the use of metformin (p=0.189) and insulin (p=0.117).
Conclusions
Our study suggests that pre-admission use of GLP-1RA may offer beneficial effects on Covid-19 mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. However, more randomized clinical trials are required to confirm this conclusion.