RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Use of oral diabetes medications and the risk of incident dementia in US veterans aged ≥60 years with type 2 diabetes JF BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care JO BMJ Open Diab Res Care FD American Diabetes Association SP e002894 DO 10.1136/bmjdrc-2022-002894 VO 10 IS 5 A1 Tang, Xin A1 Brinton, Roberta Diaz A1 Chen, Zhao A1 Farland, Leslie V A1 Klimentidis, Yann A1 Migrino, Raymond A1 Reaven, Peter A1 Rodgers, Kathleen A1 Zhou, Jin J YR 2022 UL http://drc.bmj.com/content/10/5/e002894.abstract AB Introduction Studies have reported that antidiabetic medications (ADMs) were associated with lower risk of dementia, but current findings are inconsistent. This study compared the risk of dementia onset in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) treated with sulfonylurea (SU) or thiazolidinedione (TZD) to patients with T2D treated with metformin (MET).Research design and methods This is a prospective observational study within a T2D population using electronic medical records from all sites of the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Patients with T2D who initiated ADM from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2017, were aged ≥60 years at the initiation, and were dementia-free were identified. A SU monotherapy group, a TZD monotherapy group, and a control group (MET monotherapy) were assembled based on prescription records. Participants were required to take the assigned treatment for at least 1 year. The primary outcome was all-cause dementia, and the two secondary outcomes were Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, defined by International Classification of Diseases (ICD), 9th Revision, or ICD, 10th Revision, codes. The risks of developing outcomes were compared using propensity score weighted Cox proportional hazard models.Results Among 559 106 eligible veterans (mean age 65.7 (SD 8.7) years), the all-cause dementia rate was 8.2 cases per 1000 person-years (95% CI 6.0 to 13.7). After at least 1 year of treatment, TZD monotherapy was associated with a 22% lower risk of all-cause dementia onset (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.81), compared with MET monotherapy, and 11% lower for MET and TZD dual therapy (HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.93), whereas the risk was 12% higher for SU monotherapy (HR 1.12 95% CI 1.09 to 1.15).Conclusions Among patients with T2D, TZD use was associated with a lower risk of dementia, and SU use was associated with a higher risk compared with MET use. Supplementing SU with either MET or TZD may partially offset its prodementia effects. These findings may help inform medication selection for elderly patients with T2D at high risk of dementia.Data are available upon reasonable request. Analysis results that are mentioned in the manuscript but are not shown in tables are available upon request. Aggregated and deidentified participant data that are not reported in the manuscript are available upon request.