Oct 30, 2026 · 13 min · 8 segments
Editor's Summary by Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ, and Christopher C. Muth, MD, Deputy Editors of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, for articles published from…
Christopher MuthHost
Preeti MalaniHost
Our first research article to discuss was published earlier this week in conjunction with a session at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week in Denver.
And it's about sodium glucose co-transporter 2, or SGLT2, inhibitors and blood cell counts.
This comes up frequently in clinical practice because these drugs often raise hemoglobin and hematocrit.
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, Dr. Yang and colleagues pooled data from 85 randomized double-mask trials with more than 70,000 participants who had cardiovascular disease, diabetes, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease.
Compared with placebo or active comparators, SGLT2 inhibitor use was associated with an increase in hemoglobin by about 0.6 grams per deciliter and an increase in hematocrit by 2.36 percentage points.
These medications were also linked with higher erythropoietin and red blood cell concentration and lower ferritin and transferrin saturation.
This pattern points toward increased erythropoiesis and iron use, not just hemo concentration.
Still, the average rise was small, and the authors say the clinical significance of these changes remains uncertain.
Eckhart and Corey say this modest hemoglobin increase may add to the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors and could contribute to multimodal anemia management, especially in the setting of chronic kidney disease.
But they also caution that erythrocytosis can occur, and in some patients, that could raise thromboembolic risk.
Our first research article to discuss was published earlier this week in conjunction with a session at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week in Denver.
And it's about sodium glucose co-transporter 2, or SGLT2, inhibitors and blood cell counts.
This comes up frequently in clinical practice because these drugs often raise hemoglobin and hematocrit.
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, Dr. Yang and colleagues pooled data from 85 randomized double-mask trials with more than 70,000 participants who had cardiovascular disease, diabetes, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease.
Compared with placebo or active comparators, SGLT2 inhibitor use was associated with an increase in hemoglobin by about 0.6 grams per deciliter and an increase in hematocrit by 2.36 percentage points.
These medications were also linked with higher erythropoietin and red blood cell concentration and lower ferritin and transferrin saturation.
This pattern points toward increased erythropoiesis and iron use, not just hemo concentration.
Still, the average rise was small, and the authors say the clinical significance of these changes remains uncertain.
Eckhart and Corey say this modest hemoglobin increase may add to the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors and could contribute to multimodal anemia management, especially in the setting of chronic kidney disease.
But they also caution that erythrocytosis can occur, and in some patients, that could raise thromboembolic risk.
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