Abstract: Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effects of two therapeutic strategies based on metformin hydrochloride/vildagliptin and liraglutide on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in obese patients. Methods We retrospectively collected the clinical data of 107 obese patients (BMI>25 kg/m2) with T2DM treated in Second Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Wuhu, China) during 2019-2021, including 53 patients treated continuously with metformin hydrochloride/vildagliptin and 54 with liraglutide for 3 months. The changes in BMI, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial blood glucose, HbA1C, fasting C-peptide, postprandial C-peptide, fasting insulin and postprandial insulin of the patients after treatment were compared between the two groups. Results In both of the groups, the patients all showed significant reductions of BMI, waist circumference, FBG, postprandial blood glucose and HbA1C (all P<0.05) with improved fasting and postprandial C-peptide levels after the treatments (P<0.05). The two treatment regimens showed comparable blood glucose-lowering effects, but liraglutide produced better effect in reducing waist circumference (P<0.01). Neither of two regimens obviously affected insulin level of the patients (P>0.05). Conclusion Both metformin hydrochloride/vildagliptin and liraglutide have good therapeutic effects on T2DM in obese patients and can achieve good blood glucose and weight control, but liraglutide has a better effect for weight control.

Key words: type 2 diabetes mellitus; obesity; metformin hydrochloride/vildagliptin; liraglutide