The effect of medication use on chronic pruritus in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A multicenter cross-sectional study

Background This study aimed to investigate the association between various types of medications and chronic pruritus (CP) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) through a large cross-sectional study. Methods This study encompassed data from the Tianjin Community-Based Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Cohort, comprising 2,059 patients with T2DM who were enrolled from eight community centers. The exposure variables were different medication classes, and the outcome variable was self-reported CP symptoms. Results The prevalence of CP in patients with T2DM was 41.3% (851/2059). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, α-glucosidase inhibitor (AGIs), DPP-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is), and statins (OR = 1.192, 1.248, 1.363) remained independently associated with CP, and the risk of CP gradually increased with the number of drugs used (one to three drugs, OR = 1.230 to 1.961), and subgroup analysis revealed a interaction between AGI use and renal impairment, with an elevated risk of CP observed in this subgroup (P for interaction < 0.05). Conclusion CP in patients with T2DM was associated with the use of AGIs, DPP-4is, and statins, and the combination of these medications appeared to elevate the risk of CP in patients withT2DM and discerned a interaction between renal impairment and the use of AGIs.