Open the composite
Human secondary analysis · Published August 31, 2017
Which part of a combined kidney outcome drove the result?
Subject One opens a drawer marked “Kidney outcome” and finds four smaller compartments. “I thought it was one thing.” Doctide lets him read each label before he writes the headline.
What changes here
The renal composite favored liraglutide, chiefly through less new persistent macroalbuminuria. [1]
Read the study details & dates
Open the composite
NCT01179048: prespecified secondary analysis of the same 9,340-person randomized LEADER trial in type 2 diabetes with high cardiovascular risk. Injected liraglutide versus placebo plus usual care; median follow-up 3.84 years. Intention-to-treat time-to-event renal composite: 268/4,668 versus 337/4,672; hazard ratio 0.78 (95% CI 0.67–0.92). Components included persistent macroalbuminuria, doubled creatinine, end-stage renal disease or renal death. [1]
What this does not establish
The difference was driven mainly by macroalbuminuria; this does not establish equal benefit for every component or a cure for kidney disease. It is a secondary analysis, not another randomized population. Funding: Novo Nordisk and NIH.
Original sources
Reviewed November 10, 2026. Original indexed abstract; no new trial or independent mortality count implied.
Subject One is fictional. Separate studies, species and populations are not a single patient’s experience. How to read the story