Clinical Effects of Liraglutide in a Real-World Setting in Spain: eDiabetes-Monitor SEEN Diabetes Mellitus Working Group Study

Introduction: A limitation with randomized controlled trials is that, while they provide unbiased evidence of the efficacy of interventions, they do so under unreal conditions and in a very limited and highly selected patient population. Our aim was to provide data about the effectiveness of liraglutide treatment in a real-world and clinical practice setting. Methods: In a retrospective and observational study, data from 753 patients with type 2 diabetes were recorded through an online tool (eDiabetes-Monitor). Results: Mean baseline glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 8.4 +/- 1.4% and mean body mass index (BMI) was 38.6 +/- 5.4 kg/m(2). After 3-6 months of treatment with liraglutide, we observed a change in HbA1c of -1.1 +/- 1.2%, -4.6 +/- 5.3 kg in weight and -1.7 +/- 2.0 kg/m(2) in BMI (p<0.001 for all). Compared to baseline, there was a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (-5.9 mmHg, p<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (-3.2 mmHg, p<0.001), LDL cholesterol (-0.189 mmol/l, p<0.001) and triglycerides (-0.09 mmol/l, p = 0.021). In patients switched from DPP-4 inhibitors, liraglutide induced a decrease of -1.0% in HbA1c (p<0.001) and a reduction in weight (-4.5 kg, p<0.001). In patients treated with liraglutide as an add-on therapy to insulin a decrease of -1.08% in HbA1c (p<0.001) and a weight reduction of -4.15 kg (p<0.001) were observed. Conclusion: Our study confirms the effectiveness of liraglutide in a real-life and clinical practice setting.