DCCBs Linked to 33% Higher Kidney Risk in Diabetes Study — SkimNews
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- DCCBs were associated with a 33% greater risk of major adverse kidney events in type 2 diabetes patients (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.03–1.73), according to findings presented at the 63rd ERA Congress by the European Renal Association.
- Researchers analyzed health records from 31,031 adults with type 2 diabetes treated between 2016 and 2021, with a median follow-up of approximately 3.5 years.
- Study participants were all receiving both RAS inhibitors and SGLT2 inhibitors; 12,172 (39.2%) additionally took DCCBs while 18,859 (60%) were treated with other antihypertensive medications.
- Kidney events were defined as a 40% or greater decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or progression to end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation.
- Dr. Timna Agur, the study's lead author, said the elevated risk persisted even among patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors — a class the team had expected might offset DCCB-related harm.
- The proposed mechanism: DCCBs may dilate afferent vessels feeding the kidney's filtering units more than the efferent vessels leaving them, increasing intraglomerular pressure in kidneys already strained by hyperfiltration.
- The researchers emphasized the study is observational and cannot prove causation, calling for prospective studies and randomized controlled trials to confirm the signal.
Why it matters: DKD is among the most common causes of kidney failure worldwide, and DCCBs are routinely added as a second-line blood pressure treatment for these patients — meaning any real risk would touch a very large population. The finding could nudge clinicians to favor alternative antihypertensives as add-ons, but the authors explicitly stop short of recommending a switch until randomized trials confirm the 33% signal.
Ask SkimNews
