Early GLP-1 Receptor Agonist and SGLT2 Inhibitor Add-On Strategies in Adults With Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Stage 2-3, and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

May 28, 2026 updated by: Yu-Nan Huang, Chung Shan Medical University

Early GLP-1 Receptor Agonist and SGLT2 Inhibitor Add-On Strategies in Adults With Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Stage 2-3, and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A Target Trial Emulation

This retrospective observational target-trial emulation uses electronic health record data from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network to compare early treatment intensification strategies in adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stage 2-3, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease who initiate a GLP-1 receptor agonist or an SGLT2 inhibitor as background therapy. Within each background-therapy cohort, patients who added the complementary class within 90 days of initiation were compared against patients who did not, with prespecified comparisons against both the overall non-complementary cohort and the analytical subset who initiated usual-care add-on therapy (DPP-4 inhibitors, sulfonylureas, or insulin) within the same window. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality over 60 months, with major adverse cardiovascular, kidney, and liver outcomes also evaluated. Propensity-score matching is used to reduce bias from nonrandom treatment selection.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
118805

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Pen-Hua Su, PhD
  • Phone Number: 21707 886-4-24739595
  • Email: jen@csh.org.tw

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Taichung
      • Taichung, Taichung, Taiwan, 402
        • Chung Shan Medical University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults will be selected from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network, a distributed database of de-identified electronic health records contributed by participating healthcare organizations across multiple clinical systems and practice settings. The study population consists of adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stage 2-3, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease who received routine clinical care in this network and were identified through diagnosis records, body mass index data, laboratory data, and medication prescribing data. Four mutually exclusive cohorts were defined by background therapy (GLP-1 receptor agonist or SGLT2 inhibitor) and 90-day add-on status, supporting four prespecified pairwise comparisons of early complementary add-on against monotherapy or against usual-care add-on (DPP-4 inhibitor, sulfonylurea, or insulin).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 18 years or older.
  • BMI ≥27 kg/m², or diagnosis codes consistent with obesity
  • Type 2 diabetes mellitus
  • Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stage 2-3
  • Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
  • New initiation of GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy or SGLT2 inhibitor therapy during the study period as background therapy
  • No prescription of either GLP-1 receptor agonist or SGLT2 inhibitor within the 6-month washout window before background therapy initiation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Type 1 diabetes mellitus, or other specified diabetes types that are not type 2 diabetes
  • Human immunodeficiency virus infection
  • Other chronic, alcohol-related, or secondary liver diseases
  • Prior bariatric surgery
  • Prior solid-organ transplantation
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma or liver transplant within 1 year before background therapy initiation
  • Major cardiovascular, kidney, or liver event within the 6-month window before background therapy initiation
  • Transplant-related complications

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
GLP-1 RA with SGLT2i Add-On
Adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stage 2-3, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease who initiated GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy and added an SGLT2 inhibitor within 90 days after treatment initiation.
GLP-1 RA monotherapy
Adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stage 2-3, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease who initiated GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy and did not receive early add-on therapy with an SGLT2 inhibitor within 90 days after treatment initiation.
SGLT2i with GLP-1 RA Add-On
Adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stage 2-3, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease who initiated SGLT2 inhibitor therapy and added a GLP-1 receptor agonist within 90 days after treatment initiation.
SGLT2i monotherapy
Adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stage 2-3, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease who initiated SGLT2 inhibitor therapy and did not receive early add-on therapy with a GLP-1 receptor agonist within 90 days after treatment initiation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
All-cause Mortality (Comparison 1)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
All-cause mortality from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 1, comparing adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, CKM syndrome stage 2-3, and MASLD who initiated GLP-1 RA therapy with early SGLT2i add-on versus those who initiated GLP-1 RA therapy without early SGLT2i add-on (monotherapy).
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
All-cause Mortality (Comparison 2)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
All-cause mortality from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 2, comparing adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, CKM syndrome stage 2-3, and MASLD who initiated GLP-1 RA therapy with early SGLT2i add-on versus those who initiated GLP-1 RA therapy with usual care (DPP-4 inhibitor, sulfonylurea, or insulin add-on).
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
All-cause Mortality (Comparison 3)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
All-cause mortality from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 3, comparing adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, CKM syndrome stage 2-3, and MASLD who initiated SGLT2i therapy with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus those who initiated SGLT2i therapy without early GLP-1 RA add-on (monotherapy).
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
All-cause Mortality (Comparison 4)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
All-cause mortality from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 4, comparing adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, CKM syndrome stage 2-3, and MASLD who initiated SGLT2i therapy with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus those who initiated SGLT2i therapy with usual care (DPP-4 inhibitor, sulfonylurea, or insulin add-on).
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (Comparison 1)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, intracerebral or intracranial hemorrhage, and cerebral infarction from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 1, comparing GLP-1 RA with early SGLT2i add-on versus GLP-1 RA monotherapy.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (Comparison 2)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, intracerebral or intracranial hemorrhage, and cerebral infarction from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 2, comparing GLP-1 RA with early SGLT2i add-on versus GLP-1 RA with usual care.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (Comparison 3)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, intracerebral or intracranial hemorrhage, and cerebral infarction from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 3, comparing SGLT2i with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus SGLT2i monotherapy.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (Comparison 4)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, intracerebral or intracranial hemorrhage, and cerebral infarction from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 4, comparing SGLT2i with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus SGLT2i with usual care.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Kidney Events (Comparison 1)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of end-stage kidney disease, dialysis dependence or initiation, kidney failure, and dialysis-related procedures from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 1, comparing GLP-1 RA with early SGLT2i add-on versus GLP-1 RA monotherapy.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Kidney Events (Comparison 2)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of end-stage kidney disease, dialysis dependence or initiation, kidney failure, and dialysis-related procedures from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 2, comparing GLP-1 RA with early SGLT2i add-on versus GLP-1 RA with usual care.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Kidney Events (Comparison 3)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of end-stage kidney disease, dialysis dependence or initiation, kidney failure, and dialysis-related procedures from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 3, comparing SGLT2i with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus SGLT2i monotherapy.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Kidney Events (Comparison 4)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of end-stage kidney disease, dialysis dependence or initiation, kidney failure, and dialysis-related procedures from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 4, comparing SGLT2i with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus SGLT2i with usual care.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Liver Outcomes (Comparison 1)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of hepatic decompensation (ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, variceal bleeding, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatic failure, hepatorenal syndrome), hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 1, comparing GLP-1 RA with early SGLT2i add-on versus GLP-1 RA monotherapy.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Liver Outcomes (Comparison 2)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of hepatic decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 2, comparing GLP-1 RA with early SGLT2i add-on versus GLP-1 RA with usual care.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Liver Outcomes (Comparison 3)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of hepatic decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 3, comparing SGLT2i with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus SGLT2i monotherapy.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Major Adverse Liver Outcomes (Comparison 4)
Time Frame: From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up
Composite of hepatic decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation from the 90-day landmark date through up to 60 months of follow-up in the propensity score-matched cohort for Comparison 4, comparing SGLT2i with early GLP-1 RA add-on versus SGLT2i with usual care.
From 90 days after treatment initiation through up to 60 months of follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Chung Shan Medical University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 31, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 26, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 29, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 28, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CS1-26035

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared. This retrospective observational study uses de-identified electronic health record data from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network. Access to individual-level data is restricted by data use agreements, institutional policies, and privacy protections. Researchers who meet eligibility requirements may obtain access to similar de-identified data through a TriNetX license or through participating institutions.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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