Background
Sodium Glucose Transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors  improve glycaemic control and cause modest weight loss by increasing renal glucose excretion.  There is no published data on efficacy in Arab populations.
Method 
A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed using a database of 145624 patients attending the diabetes clinic at Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC). Relevant data (including patient age, gender, weight, body mass index, glycosylated haemoglobin and concurrent antidiabetic medication) on all patients with type 2 diabetes (n=42198) and on SGLT2 inhibitors for a minimum of 3 months were retrieved from the ICLDC database (October 2014-October 2015). Follow-up data at a median of 3 and 6 months were also retrieved.  Patients with a history of bariatric surgery were excluded from further analysis. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 19.0) was used for data analysis.
Results
1071 had complete information regarding their change in weight at 0, 3 and 6 months. There was significant weight loss at three (1.3Kg; 95% CI=1.1-1.4, P<0.0001) and six months (2.1Kg; 95% CI=1.9-2.3, P<0.05) after initiation of SGLT2 inhibitor therapy; weight loss between three and six months was also significant ( 0.78Kg; 95% CI=0.6-0.9, P<0.0001).  Patients on co-treatment with pioglitazone actually gained weight (mean 1.1 kg, p<005),  whereas those on concurrent treatment with metformin (-1.4 kg, p<0.05), or GLP1 analogues (-0.68 kg, p<0.015) lost weight.  Weight loss was not related to age, gender, or duration of diabetes.
SGLT2 inhibitor therapy also resulted in an improvement in glycaemic control with a reduction in HbA1c of  0.51% (95% CI=0.44-0.57, P<0.0001) at three months and 0.59% (95% CI=0.51-0.67, P<0.0001) at six months from initiation of treatment; the drop in glycosylated haemoglobin between three and six months of 0.12% (95% CI=0.062-1.92, P<0.0001) was also significant.   
Discussion
This is the first report on efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors in an Emirati population.  Our results confirm a similar weight loss and an improvement in glycaemic control to reports in other populations.  We have also shown that weight loss is less likely to occur on patients with concurrent glitazone treatment, but is more in patients on metformin or GLP1 analogues.

Use of an SGLT2 Inhibitor is associated with weight loss and improved glycaemia: data from a diabetes centre in the UAE