The Impact of Empagliflozin on Inflammatory Markers in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Retrospective Cohort.

Background: Inflammation plays a significant role in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Empagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, has shown some anti-inflammatory effects in patients with T2D. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of empagliflozin on some inflammatory markers in T2D.

Methods: This retrospective single-arm cohort study included 40 patients with T2D who were treated with empagliflozin. Inflammatory markers such as serum level of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and serum albumin were evaluated at baseline and 12 weeks after empagliflozin treatment. Statistical analysis used paired samples t test, and the statistically significant level was considered < 0.05.

Results: After 12 weeks, a significant reduction was found in ESR (17.75 ± 15.7 mm/hr to 14.72 ± 10.93 mm/hr; = 0.025). However, the decrease in hs-CRP did not reach significance ( = 0.936). NLR did not show a significant reduction ( = 0.962), but there was a trend toward a significant decrease in PLR (107 ± 33 to 100 ± 35; = 0.053). The neutrophil count did not change significantly ( = 0.247), but the lymphocyte count significantly increased (2.43 ± 7.85 to 2.57 ± 7.45 109/l; = 0.014). Serum albumin showed a significant increase (42.8 ± 3.4 to 45.6 ± 3.2 g/l; < 0.001), indicating a decrease in inflammation.

Conclusion: Empagliflozin showed anti-inflammatory effects by reducing ESR and PLR and increasing serum albumin and lymphocyte count in adults with T2D. Monitoring inflammatory markers can serve as an indicator of treatment effectiveness in T2D patients.