Hemoglobin glycation index as a useful predictor of therapeutic responses to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes

Introduction A high hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level are associated with greater inflammatory status, and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors can suppress inflammation. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between HGI and the therapeutic effect of DPP-4 inhibitors. Methods This retrospective cohort study followed 468 patients with type 2 diabetes receiving DPP-4 inhibitor treatment for 1 year. Estimated HbA1c was calculated using a linear regression equation derived from another 2969 randomly extracted patients with type 2 diabetes based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level. The subjects were divided into two groups based on HGI (HGI = observed HbA1c -estimated HbA1c). Mixed model repeated measures were used to compare the treatment efficacy after 1 year in patients with a low (HGI<0, n = 199) and high HGI (HGI >= 0, n = 269). Results There were no significant group differences in mean changes of FPG after 1 year (-12.8 and -13.4 mg/dL in the low and high HGI groups, respectively). However, the patients with a high HGI had a significantly greater reduction in HbA1c from baseline compared to those with a low HGI (-1.9 versus -0.3% [-20.8 versus -3.3 mmol/mol]). Improvements in glycemic control were statistically significantly associated with the tested DPP-4 inhibitors in the high HGI group (- 2.4, - 1.4, - 1.2 and - 2.2% [-26.2, - 15.3, - 13.1 and - 24.0 mmol/mol] for vildagliptin, linagliptin, saxagliptin and sitagliptin, respectively) but not in the low HGI group. Conclusions The HGI index derived from FPG and HbA1c may be able to identify who will have a better response to DPP-4 inhibitors.