Urinary tract and genital infections with dapagliflozin and empagliflozin across type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease: An indication- and sex-stratified disproportionality analysis of eudravigilance reports
Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are widely used in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), chronic heart failure (CHF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although their cardiovascular and renal benefits are well established, urogenital infections remain a relevant safety concern. Comparative post-marketing data on dapagliflozin (DAPA) and empagliflozin (EMPA) across therapeutic indications are limited. A retrospective pharmacovigilance analysis of the EudraVigilance database (January 2021-July 2025) was conducted using a case/non-case approach. Cases were defined as individual case safety reports (ICSRs) containing at least one urogenital infection-coded reaction and a confirmed indication (T2DM, CHF, or CKD). The primary analysis was restricted to reports originating from the European Economic Area (EEA), where reporting rules are identical for both drugs; reports with unspecified patient age were excluded. Among 16,102 EEA ICSRs, 8156 adult reports with a confirmed indication were analyzed, of which 1109 met the case definition. Non-EEA reports were analyzed separately as a sensitivity analysis. Urogenital infection reporting did not differ between DAPA and EMPA, overall (ROR 0.91; 95% CI 0.80-1.03) or within any indication (T2DM: 13.9% vs 14.9%, ROR 0.92; 95% CI 0.79-1.07; CHF: 11.5% vs 12.6%, ROR 0.90; 95% CI 0.69-1.18; CKD: 11.0% vs 6.7%, ROR 1.73; 95% CI 0.75-3.99). For both drugs, reporting was higher in T2DM than in CHF (DAPA ROR 1.25; 95% CI 1.00-1.56; EMPA ROR 1.22; 95% CI 0.99-1.51), a difference confined to female patients (DAPA 1.38; EMPA 1.56) and, in the endpoint disaggregation, to genital mycotic infections (DAPA 2.24; EMPA 1.79) rather than non-mycotic urogenital infections. Female sex was the strongest determinant of urogenital infection reporting for both drugs (ROR female/male 1.85 for DAPA and 1.58 for EMPA). In non-EEA reports, an apparent excess of urogenital infection reporting with DAPA over EMPA (ROR 1.85; 95% CI 1.59-2.16) was explained by a different composition of the reports forwarded for the two drugs rather than by a drug effect. Urogenital infection reporting with SGLT2 inhibitors depends on indication and sex rather than on the molecule, and between-drug comparisons in EudraVigilance are sensitive to the geographic origin of reports.
Authors
- Francesco Baratta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1708-272X)
- Agnese Graziosi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4992-7902)
- Fabiana Morroni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6494-5968)
- Maria Antonietta Riemma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2396-4393)
- Daniele Pastori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6357-5213)
- Alice Schianchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4750-4313)
- Gianluca Gazzaniga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0648-3309)
- Danila Gurgone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7736-1187)
- Giulia Sita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6627-7078)
- Chiara Veronese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6669-3853)
- Elena Mele (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2214-7850)
- Fabrizio Oliva
- Arianna Pani
Institutions
- University of Milan (IT)
- University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (IT)
- Policlinico Umberto I (IT)
- Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda (IT)
- Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (CH)
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (IT)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
- University of Bologna (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
- Published
- 2026-10-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2026.119976
- Primary Topic
- Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00