The medical journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy has published an article, “Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Risk: A Meta-analysis”, which concludes that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors increase the risk of Crohn’s disease (CD). It goes on to point out that these DPP-4 inhibitor diabetes drugs, such as Januvia, Onglyza, and Kombiglyze, do not appear to increase the risk of developing Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
From the Abstract for this new Annals of Pharmacotherapy article, published on January 30, 2019, we get the following:
- Objective: This meta-analysis aims to elucidate the risk for [inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)] with DPP-4 inhibitor therapy.
- Results: A total of 16 individual studies evaluating a total of 198 404 patients were included for analysis. Studies ranged from 52 weeks through 5 years. In the primary random-effects analysis, DPP-4 inhibitor exposure resulted in a nonsignificant increase in the risk of [inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)] (RR = 1.52; 95% CI = 0.72 to 3.24; I2 = 54.2%)…. DPP-4 inhibitor use significantly increased the risk of [Crohn’s disease (CD)] (RR = 2.47; 95% CI = 1.36 to 4.48)….
- Conclusion and Relevance: Based on a conservative random-effects analysis, DPP-4 inhibitors do not appear to increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease. However, long-term postmarketing surveillance is warranted.
In summary, this recent study found that the DPP-4 inhibitor class of drugs is not associated with IBD; however, DPP-4 inhibitor diabetes drugs, such as Januvia and Onglyza, increase the risk of Crohn’s disease (CD).
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