Fenofibrate Use Is Associated With Lower Mortality and Fewer Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Diabetes: Results of 10,114 Patients From the Korean National Health Insurance Service Cohort
Research design and Methods: We performed population based cohort study using data of Korean National Health Insurance from 2003 to 2014. Among 63727 participants with diabetes aged 40-79, 5057 users of fenofibrate only were compared with 5057 non-users of fenofibrate and/or omega-3 fatty acid with 1:1 propensity matching. Primary endpoint was composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, percutaneous coronary revascularization and cardiac death for median 3 years.
Results: Primary endpoint was significantly lower in fenofibrate users as compared to neither users, 13.4 vs. 15.5 per 1000 person years (hazard ratio [HR] 0.76, confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.94, P=0.010). Cardiac death (1.8 vs. 3.1 per 1000 person years [HR 0.59, CI, 0.352- 0.987, p=0.0446]), all cause death (7.6 vs. 15.3 per 1000 person years [HR 0.437, CI, 0.340 -0.562, p<0.0001]), and stroke (6.5 vs. 8.6 per 1000 person years [HR 0.621, CI, 0.463-0.833, P=0.0015]) were significantly lower in fenofibrate group. As the duration of fenofibrate use stratified by quartiles (Q1-4), the risk decreased in Q4 with HR of 0.347 (95% CI 0.226-0.532, P<0.0001). In subgroup analysis, the favoring effect of fenofibrate is sustained consistently across all subset of patients including those classified by LDL-C, HDL-C and TG levels.
Conclusions: Use of fenofibrate was associated with lower rate of total and cardiac mortality and cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes patients for 3 year follow-up in real world large populations.
