Effects of 6-Month Sitagliptin Treatment on Metabolic Parameters in Diabetic Patients Taking Oral Glucocorticoids: A Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: There are no guidelines for the treatment of diabetes in patients taking glucocorticoids. We studied to understand the effects of 6-month treatment with sitagliptin on metabolic parameters in diabetic patients taking glucocorticoids. METHODS: We retrospectively picked up patients who had been prescribed sitagliptin for 6 months during the continuous prescription of oral glucocorticoids between October 2010 and October 2013 by a chart-based analysis, and compared the data before the sitagliptin treatment with the data at 6 months after the sitagliptin treatment started. RESULTS: Fifteen patients were eligible for the analyses in our study. The plasma glucose and HbA1c levels were significantly reduced by the sitagliptin treatment. Furthermore, body weight significantly decreased. We found a significant and inverse correlation between the change in HbA1c levels and HbA1c levels at baseline. However, there was no significant correlation between the change in HbA1c levels and the daily glucocorticoid dose at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated that sitagliptin significantly reduced plasma glucose, HbA1c and body weight. Further, sitagliptin was more effective to improve glycemic control in patients taking glucocorticoids with higher HbA1c levels, independently of the daily glucocorticoid dose.