Comparison of incontinence quality of life scores in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated and not treated with sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors.

OBJECTIVE: With increasing use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, their potential side effects need to be evaluated. The aim of this study is to compare urinary incontinence symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) between groups treated and not treated with SGLT2 inhibitors, using the Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QOL) questionnaire.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 114 patients aged 18 years and older with T2DM (61 treated with SGLT2 inhibitors, the remainder not using SGLT2 inhibitors). For all participants, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, fasting blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin, and number of births (if female participants had given birth) were recorded. All patients were asked about the duration of their diabetes, whether they used SGLT2 inhibitors, and if so, their daily dosage. The Turkish translation of the I-QOL questionnaire was applied to all participants.

RESULTS: Both groups were similar in terms of gender distribution, age, diabetes duration, BMI, eGFR, fasting blood sugar, and HbAıc values. We found no significant difference in mean I-QOL scores between the groups using and not using SGLT2 inhibitors. Sensitivity analyses performed with a 95% confidence interval also showed that the interactions between SGLT2 inhibitor use x HbA1c, SGLT2 inhibitor use x gender, and SGLT2 inhibitor use x parity were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: In this study, after adjusting for the available covariates, no statistically significant association was found between SGLT2 inhibitor use and I-QOL scores; however, the confidence interval does not rule out clinically significant effects.