Effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on anemia and their possible clinical implications

Sodium -glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have demonstrated cardiovascular and renal benefits in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease. Since the first studies with these drugs, an initial increase in hemoglobin/hematocrit levels was observed, which was attributed to an increase in hemoconcentration associated with its diuretic effect, although it was soon seen that these drugs increased erythropoietin levels and erythropoiesis, and improved iron metabolism. Mediation studies found that the increase in hemoglobin was strongly associated with the cardiorenal benefits of these drugs. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms for improving erythropoiesis and the implication of the increase in hemoglobin on the cardiorenal prognostic benefit of these drugs. (c) 2023 Sociedad Espa & ntilde;ola de Nefrolog & iacute;a. Published by Elsevier Espa & ntilde;a, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/4.0/).