Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are being treated with glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapies such as sitagliptin and exenatide are at an increased risk of being hospitalized for acute pancreatitis, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
In a study published online ahead of print in JAMA Internal Medicine, Sonal Singh, MD, MPH, and colleagues examined 1,269 cases of hospitalization for acute pancreatitis based on population data from February 2005 to December 2008. After adjusting for confounders, current use of GLP-1-based therapies within 30 days of hospitalization and recent use past 30 days and less than two years were associated with a twofold increased risk of acute pancreatitis compared with nonuse of the medications.
In addition, included participants of the study were more likely to have hypertriglyceridemia, gallstones, biliary and pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis, and a neoplasm compared to the control group. They were also more likely to be obese and use tobacco or alcohol.
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