Abstract:
Objective To systematically assess the efficacy and safety of combining glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) with insulin in obese adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Methods Randomized controlled trials were searched from PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China Biology Medicine, Chongqing VIP, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 software.
Results A total of 34 studies involving 4180 patients were included. Meta-analysis demonstrated that compared to insulin monotherapy, the combination therapy group exhibited significant reductions in body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobinA1c (GHbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2 h BG), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and risk of hypoglycemia (P < 0.05), significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and risk of nausea (P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis results showed that compared with the insulin monotherapy group, all combination groups exhibited lower GHbA1c levels (all P < 0.05). Except for the GLP-1RA combined with aspart insulin group, all other combination groups had lower FBG levels (all P < 0.01). Except for the GLP-1RA combined with aspart insulin + glargine insulin group, all other combination groups demonstrated lower 2 h BG levels (all P < 0.01). Regarding blood lipids, compared with the insulin monotherapy group, except for the GLP-1RA combined with detemir insulin or aspart insulin + glargine insulin groups, all other combination groups showed lower TC levels (all P < 0.01). Except for the GLP-1RA combined with regular insulin or aspart insulin + glargine insulin group, all other combination groups had lower TG levels (all P < 0.05). Except for the GLP-1RA combined with aspart insulin group, all other combination groups exhibited lower LDL-C levels (all P < 0.05). Except for the GLP-1RA combined with detemir insulin group, all other combination groups showed higher HDL-C levels (all P < 0.01).
Conclusion The combination of GLP-1RA and insulin significantly improves glycemic control, weight, and lipid profiles while reducing the risk of hypoglycemia in obese adults with T2DM. The efficacy is influenced by the type of insulin used in combination.