Comparison of biochemical parameters among DPP4 inhibitor users and other oral hypoglycaemic drug users: a cross-sectional study from Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

BACKGROUND: Higher efficacy of incretin-based therapies for type 2 diabetes mellitus has been reported from Asia. Pancreatitis and hepatitis have also been suspected to occur due to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP4I) treatment. The present study aims at comparing selected biochemical parameters among DPP4 inhibitor users and other oral hypoglycaemic drug users. METHODS: Patients were recruited from the State Pharmaceutical Corporation, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, for a comparative cross-sectional study. Two groups were involved: “DPP4I” user group (n = 63) and “other oral hypoglycaemic” user group (n = 126). Mann-Whitney U test was performed to find a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the distributions of HbA(1C), pancreatic amylase, serum lipase, AST and ALT levels between the two groups. RESULTS: Contradicting to previous Asian studies, distribution of HbA(1C) (p = 0.569) between anti-diabetic regimes with and without DPP4 inhibitors showed no significant difference. Also, amylase (p = 0.171), AST (p = 0.238) and ALT (p = 0.347) failed to show significance. However, lipase was significantly (p = 0.012) high in the DPP4I group. CONCLUSION: The study showed a significantly higher lipase level among the DPP4I users in comparison to other oral hypoglycaemic drug users, and possible reasons were discussed. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s41043-019-0160-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.