Patient and treatment perspectives: Revisiting the link between type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and cardiovascular risk

ABSTRACT

Lifestyle modifications in conjunction with antidiabetes medications can produce near-normal blood glucose concentrations in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Because these patients have increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, treatment strategies should also address the cardiovascular aspects of the disease, including blood pressure, lipids, and body weight. Since the prevalence of these abnormalities is increasingly secondary to poor diet and sedentary lifestyles and because most patients with T2DM are overweight/obese, clinicians are encouraged to help patients reduce body weight while correcting hyperglycemia by selecting treatment options that improve both parameters. The glucose-lowering properties of insulin and sulfonylureas are well known but they are also associated with weight gain. Thiazolidinediones are associated with weight gain as well as edema. However, this weight gain may be more peripheral than central, which may mitigate the risks associated with increased body fat. Metformin, the consensus first-line drug for the treatment of patients with T2DM, is weight neutral. Newer antidiabetes agents include incretin-based medications, such as the glucagon-like peptide–1 receptor agonists, which tend to decrease weight, and the dipeptidyl peptidase–4 inhibitors, which are weight neutral.