Abstract 4143220: Racial Differences in Prescription of SGLT2 Inhibitors and GLP1 Receptor Agonists Among US Veterans with Type 2 Diabetes and Coronary Artery Disease

Background: Clinical trials have demonstrated that sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) reduce cardiovascular (CV) risk in patients (pts) with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with or at high risk for CV disease. Adoption of new therapies has often lagged for Black pts compared with non-Hispanic White pts, contributing to poorer health outcomes. Methods: We identified Veterans with T2D and angiographic CAD between 2015 and 2020 at 84 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers who met eligibility criteria for the EMPA-REG OUTCOME or LEADER trials that first established the clinical efficacy of SGLT2i and GLP1RA, respectively. Within each cohort (SGLT2i- and GLP1RA-eligible), we used multivariable logistic regression adjusted for demographic and clinical covariates to estimate associations of race with evidence-based drug prescription. We evaluated patterns of evidence-based prescription of SGLT2i and GLP1RA over time and by race in US Veterans with T2D and coronary artery disease (CAD). Results: Of 63,561 pts with T2D and CAD, 3,527 Black and 18,668 White pts met trial eligibility criteria for SGLT2i treatment and 2,020 Black and 10,103 White pts for GLP1RA treatment. Evidence-based prescription of both classes increased over time for both races ( Figure ) but reached only approximately 40% for SGLT2i and 15% for GLP1RA in 2023. For SGLT2i, race (Black/White) was not associated with evidence-based prescription (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.96, 95% CI 0.89-1.04, P=0.3). However, Black pts were less likely than White pts to receive evidence-based prescription of GLP1RA (adjusted OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.74-0.98, P=0.025). Conclusions: Among pts with T2D and CAD in the VA healthcare system, evidence-based prescription of SGLT2i and GLP1RA increased over time, but many eligible pts remained untreated. Prescription of SGLT2i did not differ by race, but Black pts were less likely than White pts to have evidence-based prescription of a GLP1RA. Disparities in evidence-based use of CV treatments may be specific to certain drug classes, even in a healthcare system with few economic barriers. Further investigation is needed to determine underlying causes and solutions for such disparities.