Sodium-Glucose Co-transporter Type-2 Inhibitors’ Effect on Quality of Life in Older Adult Population

Introduction The global elderly population is expanding, with chronic conditions like diabetes diminishing their quality of life. Sodium-glucose co-transporter type 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors hold promise in improving quality of life by addressing hypervolemia, obesity, and lipid irregularities. However, these drugs can lead to adverse effects, such as polyuria, dehydration, and weight loss, which may detrimentally impact older patients. We aimed to investigate the association between SGLT-2 inhibitors and quality of life in older adults with diabetes. Methods The research included 100 type II diabetes mellitus patients over 65, without active infections, malignancies, immunodeficiencies, and hematological disorders. Fifty patients were using empagliflozin or dapagliflozin and 50 patients were using other oral antidiabetics for at least six months. Patient demographics, laboratory studies, drug usage and side effects, additional diseases, Geriatric Depression Scale scores, and World Health Organization Quality of Life OLD (WHOQoL-OLD) module scores were noted. Results No significant difference between gender distribution, SGLT usage, chronic disease existence, chronic disease count, depression scores, or incidents of chronic diseases other than hyperlipidemia was observed. Hyperlipidemia incidence was significantly higher in the SGLT group, while other laboratory parameters were not statistically significantly different between groups. There were no significant differences in autonomy, past-present-future activities, social skills, death, intimacy, and total WHOQoL-OLD scores between the two groups. However, there were statistically significantly worse outcomes in patients with at least one SGLT adverse effect in terms of sensory quality of life scores. Dehydration existence was negatively correlated with lower autonomy, PPF activities, and total quality of life scores. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed no significant differences in the total WHOQoL-OLD score after adjusting for confounding factors. Conclusion Age and depression remained the main factors affecting the quality of life in diabetic patients. SGLT-2 inhibitor side effects did not decrease the quality of life in older individuals, who are more prone to unfavorable consequences.