Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors alleviate cognitive dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are commonly at high risk for developing cognitive dysfunction. Antidiabetic agents might be repurposed for targeting cognitive dysfunction in addition to modulation on glucose homeostasis. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) on cognitive function in T2DM.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were systematically searched from inception to September 30, 2023. Weighted mean differences were calculated using the Mantel-Haenszel (M-H) fixed or random effects model based on the degree of heterogeneity among studies. Heterogeneity was evaluated using a Chi-squared test and quantified with Higgins I². Sensitivity analysis was performed with the leave-one-out method, and publication bias was evaluated according to Begg’s and Egger’s tests.

Results

Six clinical trials involving 5,178 participants were included in the pooled analysis. Administration of DPP-4i generally correlated with an increase of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (1.09, 95% CI: 0.22 to 1.96). DPP-4i alleviated cognitive impairment in the copying skill subdomain of MMSE (0.26, 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.40). Treatment with DPP-4i also resulted in an increase of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scores (0.82, 95% CI: 0.30 to 1.34). However, DPP-4i produced no significant effects on Barthel Activities of Daily Living (BADL) scores (0.37, 95% CI: -1.26 to 1.99) or other test scores.

Conclusions

DPP-4i treatment favourably improved cognitive function in patients with T2DM. Further trials with larger samples should be performed to confirm these estimates and investigate the association of different DPP-4i with cognitive function among diabetic patients.

Trial registration in PROSPERO

CRD42023430873.