When you go to the doctor for diabetes, you probably hear a lot of numbers — things like your A1C, blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol. and weight. While these numbers are important, researchers are really interested in something bigger: clinical outcomes.
What is an “Outcome”?
In medical terms, an outcome isn’t just a number on a blood test; it is a major life event. Outcomes include things like:
- Heart attacks and strokes.
- Hospitalizations
- Dementia
- Cancer
- Kidney failure or the need for dialysis.
- Blindness
- Amputations
- Death from any cause
The Limits of “Intermediate Measures”
Scientists have learned that we cannot always be sure a drug is truly helpful just by looking at the numbers. A drug might lower your blood sugar but not actually lower your risk of a heart attack. This is why “outcomes trials” are so important. They prove that a medicine doesn’t just change a number; it actually keeps people alive and out of the hospital.
Surprising Findings from Recent Studies
Recent research has looked at two popular classes of drugs: GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors. Interestingly, these studies found that the benefits of these drugs are very similar for people with or without diabetes.
| Outcome | Reduction by a GLP-1 Receptor Agonist | Reduction by a SGLT2 inhibitor |
| Heart Attacks or Strokes | 14% | 9% |
| Heart Failure | 14% | 32% |
| Kidney Disease Progression | 22% | 37% |
Why This Matters to You
The goal of modern medicine is to send patients on a “journey that leads them to a good place”. By focusing on drugs that have been proven in large trials to prevent serious outcomes, doctors can be more confident in their treatments. Whether used alone or in combination, these new therapies are changing the way we preserve health, moving the focus from just “managing numbers” to truly improving long-term outcomes.
About the author
Hertzel Gerstein
Hertzel is an endocrinologist and professor at McMaster University who is in high demand as a speaker, advocate, and educator on diabetes-related topics. His research focuses on using large, international randomized trials to identify and test new ways of preventing type 2 diabetes, reducing serious health outcomes like strokes and death, and achieving type 2 diabetes remissions.
