Frequency of liver disease in type 2 diabetic patients treated with oral antidiabetic agents

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated liver disease in conventionally treated type 2 diabetic patients to provide a reference against which reports of liver disease related to novel oral antidiabetic treatments could be compared.

Research design and methods: In this follow-up study, patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated with oral antidiabetic agents were identified from the U.K.-based General Practice Research Database and were followed to determine whether they developed liver disease. The specific types and etiologies of liver disorders were determined. Incidence rates were calculated based on the accumulated exposure time to oral antidiabetic agents.

Results: Among 44,406 type 2 diabetic patients, 605 had a computer diagnosis of liver disease with an incidence rate of 53.2/10,000 person-years (95% CI 49.2-57.6). Of the 605 subjects, 186 had nonsymptomatic, mild, and transient liver disorders; 249 had a predisposing condition; and 113 had another cause for the disease. A total of 57 cases were possibly drug induced with an incidence rate of 5.0/10,000 person-years (3.9-6.5). Of the cases, 11 were attributed to other drugs, 8 were attributed to fatty liver disease of diabetes, and the remaining cases were attributed to uncertain causes. Oral antidiabetic agents were continued in 51 of these 57 cases, and we could not rule out oral antidiabetic agents as a cause of liver disease in 2 cases with an incidence rate of 0.2/10,000 person-years (< 0.1-0.6).

Conclusions: In this population, the background incidence of liver disease was high. Most cases involved other systemic diseases that may cause liver disease.