MONDAY, Nov. 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors show significant benefits for adults aged 80 years and older with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study presented at Kidney Week, the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, held from Oct. 21 to 25 in Denver.
Julian Doricic, M.D., from Medizinische Hochschule Hannover in Germany, and colleagues examined effects of SGLT2 inhibitor therapy in elderly adults with CKD. The analysis included 23,765 SGLT2 inhibitor users and nonusers (aged 80 years and older) who were propensity score-matched for comorbidities, laboratory parameters, and frailty-associated factors, identified from the TriNetX database.
The researchers found that after two years of follow-up, there was a significant reduction in mortality among patients treated with SGLT2 inhibitors (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.734). Similar mortality benefit was seen across all predefined subgroups. SGLT2 inhibitor users also experienced benefits in terms of lower risk of both major adverse cardiovascular events (aHR, 0.884) and major adverse kidney events (aHR, 0.775).
"Very elderly individuals are historically underrepresented in or systematically excluded from large-scale randomized controlled trials due to multimorbidity and frailty. By leveraging real-world data, our research addresses a crucial blind spot in current medical literature," coauthor Bernhard M.W. Schmidt, M.D., from Hannover Medical School in Germany, said in a statement. "These patients require a careful, individualized risk-benefit assessment and close clinical monitoring."
