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(HealthDay News) — For patients with type 2 diabetes, fenofibrate is effective in women, improving their lipoprotein profile more than in men, according to a study published online in Diabetologia.
Michael C. d’Emden, PhD, from the Royal Brisbane Hospital in Australia, and colleagues examined sex-related differences in the impact of fenofibrate on major cardiovascular (CV) events in type 2 diabetes. Data were included from 3,657 women and 6,138 men with type 2 diabetes, not using statins, who were allocated to fenofibrate or placebo for a 5-year period.
The researchers found that, in both sexes, baseline total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, non-HDL, apolipoproteins A-I and B, and triacylglycerol levels improved with fenofibrate (all P<.001).
In women, fenofibrate induced greater reductions in total cholesterol, LDL, non-HDL, and apolipoprotein B (all P<.001), irrespective of menopausal status and statin intake.
Fenofibrate reduced total CV outcomes by 30% and 13%, respectively, in women and men (P=.008 and 0.07, respectively), after adjustment for confounders, with no indication of a treatment-by-sex interaction (P>.1).
Among patients with high triacylglycerol levels and low HDL, there were cardiac outcome reductions of 30% and 24% in women and men, respectively, with fenofibrate, with no indication of treatment-by-sex interaction (P>.1).
“Both sexes with type 2 diabetes should be considered for fenofibrate therapy for cardioprotection,” the researchers wrote.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to Abbott Pharmaceuticals, which partially funded the study.
