A new study suggests that diabetes medications could pose an increased risk for the development of heart failure.

Researchers at University Health Network found that for every one kilogram of weight gain attributed to a glucose or sugar-lowering diabetes medication or strategy, there was an associated 7 percent increased risk of heart failure directly linked to that medication or strategy.

Heart failure is a common occurrence for patients with type 2 diabetes and has a major impact on one's life expectancy and quality of life as well as representing a major driver of healthcare costs.

"Patients randomized to new or more intensive blood sugar-lowering drugs or strategies to manage diabetes showed an overall 14 percent increased risk for heart failure," Dr. Jacob Udell, the study's principal investigator, said in a statement. "This increased risk was directly associated with the type of diabetes therapy that was chosen, with some drugs more likely to cause heart failure than others, compared with placebo or standard care."

For the study, researchers reviewed and analyzed data from 14 trials involving nearly 96,000 patients. Four percent of patients suffered a heart failure event while being followed in the individual trials, while 9.8 per cent of patients in the study endured a major adverse cardiovascular event.

The relative increase in the risk of heart failure outweighed a 5 percent reduction in heart attacks. The numbers show that for about every 200 patients treated, one additional hospital admission for heart failure was seen after an average of four years of follow-up.

"The results of this study could prove to be the catalyst for how diabetes patients at risk for heart disease are managed moving forward," Dr. Barry Rubin of University Health Network said in a statement.

The results of the study were presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session and published in the current issue of The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.