Abstract
AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Research has proved a correlation between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and gastrointestinal adverse events. Predominantly, nausea and vomiting are frequent gastrointestinal adverse events that lead to the discontinuation of GLP-1 RAs treatment. The present study aims to investigate clinical factors related to nausea and vomiting, considering diabetic complications and agents affecting the gastrointestinal tract, such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs), in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with GLP-1 RAs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes who started receiving GLP-1 RAs therapy. We assessed nausea and vomiting up to 48 weeks after treatment with GLP-1 RAs and used Fine-Gray's proportional hazards model to investigate clinical factors related to nausea and vomiting. RESULTS: A total of 130 patients were included in this study. Patients with PPIs or H2RAs showed a higher incidence of nausea and vomiting at 48 weeks than those without PPIs or H2RAs. The multivariate analysis revealed that female sex, retinopathy and treatment with PPIs or H2RAs were statistically significant risk factors for nausea and vomiting. Analysis of patients without PPIs or H2RAs showed that female sex and retinopathy were also statistically significant risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed a significant correlation of PPIs or H2RAs, female sex, and diabetic retinopathy with nausea and vomiting in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with GLP-1 RAs. Hence, the occurrence of nausea and vomiting in patients with these factors warrants attention.