From Hong Kong Diabetes Register to JADE Program to RAMP-DM for Data-Driven Actions

Patient-reported outcomes and treatment adherence in type 2 diabetes using natural language processing: Wave 8 of the Observational International Diabetes Management Practices Study

AIMS/INTRODUCTION

We analyzed patient-reported outcomes of people with type 2 diabetes to better understand perceptions and experiences contributing to treatment adherence.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the ongoing International Diabetes Management Practices Study, we collected patient-reported outcomes data from structured questionnaires (chronic treatment acceptance questionnaire and Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire) and free-text answers to open-ended questions to assess perceptions of treatment value and side-effects, as well as barriers to, and enablers for, adherence and self-management. Free-text answers were analyzed by natural language processing.

RESULTS

In 2018-2020, we recruited 2,475 patients with type 2 diabetes (43.3% insulin-treated, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) 8.0 ± 1.8%; 30.9% with HbA1c <7%) from 13 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Mean ± standard deviation scores of chronic treatment acceptance questionnaire (acceptance of medication, rated out of 100) and Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (self-management, rated out of 10) were 87.8 ± 24.5 and 3.3 ± 0.9, respectively. Based on free-text analysis and coded responses, one in three patients reported treatment non-adherence. Overall, although most patients accepted treatment values and side-effects, self-management was suboptimal. Treatment duration, regimen complexity and disruption of daily routines were major barriers to adherence, whereas habit formation was a key enabler. Treatment-adherent patients were older (60 ± 11.6 vs 55 ± 11.7 years, P < 0.001), and more likely to have longer disease duration (12 ± 8.6 vs 10 ± 7.7 years, P < 0.001), exposure to diabetes education (73.1% vs 67.8%, P < 0.05), lower HbA1c (7.9 ± 1.8% vs 8.3 ± 1.9%, P < 0.001) and attainment of HbA1c <7% (29.7% vs 23.3%, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Patient perceptions/experiences influence treatment adherence and self-management. Patient-centered education and support programs that consider patient-reported outcomes aimed at promoting empowerment and developing new routines might improve glycemic control.

Glycaemic control is still central in the hierarchy of priorities in type 2 diabetes management

A panel of primary care and diabetes specialists conducted focused literature searches on the current role of glycaemic control in the management of type 2 diabetes and revisited the evolution of evidence supporting the importance of early and intensive blood glucose control as a central strategy to reduce the risk of adverse long-term outcomes. The optimal approach to type 2 diabetes management has evolved over time as the evidence base has expanded from data from trials that established the role of optimising glycaemic control to recent data from cardiovascular outcomes trials (CVOTs) demonstrating organ-protective effects of newer glucose-lowering drugs (GLDs). The results from these CVOTs were derived mainly from people with type 2 diabetes and prior cardiovascular and kidney disease or multiple risk factors. In more recent years, earlier diagnosis in high-risk individuals has contributed to the large proportion of people with type 2 diabetes who do not have complications. In these individuals, a legacy effect of early and optimal control of blood glucose and cardiometabolic risk factors has been proven to reduce cardiovascular and kidney disease events and all-cause mortality. As there is a lack of RCTs investigating the potential synergistic effects of intensive glucose control and organ-protective effects of newer GLDs, this article re-evaluates the evolution of the scientific evidence and highlights the importance of integrating glycaemic control as a pivotal early therapeutic goal in most people with type 2 diabetes, while targeting existing cardiovascular and kidney disease. We also emphasise the importance of implementing multifactorial management using a multidisciplinary approach to facilitate regular review, patient empowerment and the possibility of tailoring interventions to account for the heterogeneity of type 2 diabetes.

Bridging Real-World Data Gaps: Connecting Dots Across 10 Asian Countries

The economic trend and the health care landscape are rapidly evolving across Asia. Effective real-world data (RWD) for regulatory and clinical decision-making is a crucial milestone associated with this evolution. This necessitates a critical evaluation of RWD generation within distinct nations for the use of various RWD warehouses in the generation of real-world evidence (RWE). In this article, we outline the RWD generation trends for 2 contrasting nation archetypes: "Solo Scholars"-nations with relatively self-sufficient RWD research systems-and "Global Collaborators"-countries largely reliant on international infrastructures for RWD generation. The key trends and patterns in RWD generation, country-specific insights into the predominant databases used in each country to produce RWE, and insights into the broader landscape of RWD database use across these countries are discussed. Conclusively, the data point out the heterogeneous nature of RWD generation practices across 10 different Asian nations and advocate for strategic enhancements in data harmonization. The evidence highlights the imperative for improved database integration and the establishment of standardized protocols and infrastructure for leveraging electronic medical records (EMR) in streamlining RWD acquisition. The clinical data analysis and reporting system of Hong Kong is an excellent example of a successful EMR system that showcases the capacity of integrated robust EMR platforms to consolidate and produce diverse RWE. This, in turn, can potentially reduce the necessity for reliance on numerous condition-specific local and global registries or limited and largely unavailable medical insurance or claims databases in most Asian nations. Linking health technology assessment processes with open data initiatives such as the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model and the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics could enable the leveraging of global data resources to inform local decision-making. Advancing such initiatives is crucial for reinforcing health care frameworks in resource-limited settings and advancing toward cohesive, evidence-driven health care policy and improved patient outcomes in the region.

Association of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor initiation at glycated haemoglobin <7.5% with reduced major clinical events mediated by low glycated haemoglobin variability

AIM

Therapeutic inertia, hypoglycaemia and poor treatment persistence can lead to glycaemic fluctuation and poor outcomes in type 2 diabetes (T2D). We compared glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) variability, insulin initiation, severe hypoglycaemia and clinical events in patients with T2D initiated dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4is) at low versus high HbA1c thresholds.

METHODS

Using territory-wide electronic medical records in Hong Kong, we curated a propensity score-matched cohort of patients initiated DPP4i at HbA1c <7.5% versus ≥7.5% in 2007-2019. We expressed the HbA1c variability score (HVS) as a proportion of HbA1c varied by ≥0.5% compared with preceding values. We used the Cox model to compare the risks of insulin initiation and clinical outcomes, adjusted for time-varying variables between the two groups. Mediation analysis estimated the effects of HbA1c variability on outcomes.

RESULTS

Among 6874 insulin-naïve patients who initiated DPP4i, 88.7% were treated with metformin and 79.6% with sulphonylureas at baseline (54.9% men; mean age 65.2 ± 11.4 years). After a median follow-up of 4.6 years, compared with the high-threshold plus high-HVS group (≥50%), the low-threshold plus low-HVS (<50%) group had reduced hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of insulin initiation (0.35, 0.31-0.40), severe hypoglycaemia (0.38, 0.34-0.44), major adverse cardiovascular endpoints (0.76, 0.66-0.88), heart failure (0.42, 0.36-0.49), end-stage kidney disease (0.65, 0.36-0.49) and mortality (0.45, 0.35-0.57). Reduced HbA1c variability explained 31.1%-81.2% of the effect size of DPP4i initiation at HbA1c <7.5% versus ≥7.5% on outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

In Chinese patients with T2D, avoiding therapeutic inertia with intensified glycaemic control at HbA1c <7.5% using drugs with low risk of hypoglycaemia and good tolerability, such as DPP4i, delayed insulin treatment, reduced HbA1c variability and improved clinical events.

Current type 2 diabetes guidelines: Individualized treatment and how to make the most of metformin

Evidence-based guidelines provide the premise for the delivery of quality care to preserve health and prevent disabilities and premature death. The systematic gathering of observational, mechanistic and experimental data contributes to the hierarchy of evidence used to guide clinical practice. In the field of diabetes, metformin was discovered more than 100 years ago, and with 60 years of clinical use, it has stood the test of time regarding its value in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. Although some guidelines have challenged the role of metformin as the first-line glucose-lowering drug, it is important to point out that the cardiovascular-renal protective effects of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists were gathered from patients with type 2 diabetes, the majority of whom were treated with metformin. Most national, regional and international guidelines recommend metformin as a foundation therapy with emphasis on avoidance of therapeutic inertia and early attainment of multiple treatment goals. Moreover, real-world evidence has confirmed the glucose-lowering and cardiovascular-renal benefits of metformin accompanied by an extremely low risk of lactic acidosis. In patients with type 2 diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate 15-30 mL/min/1.73m2), metformin discontinuation was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular-renal events compared with metformin persistence. Meanwhile, it is understood that microbiota, nutrients and metformin can interact through the gut-brain-kidney axis to modulate homeostasis of bioactive molecules, systemic inflammation and energy metabolism. While these biological changes contribute to the multisystem effects of metformin, they may also explain the gastrointestinal side effects and vitamin B12 deficiency associated with metformin intolerance. By understanding the interactions between metformin, foods and microbiota, healthcare professionals are in a better position to optimize the use of metformin and mitigate potential side effects. The United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study and the Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Program commenced 40 years ago provided the first evidence that type 2 diabetes is preventable and treatable. To drive real-world impact from this evidence, payors, practitioners and planners need to co-design and implement an integrated, data-driven, metformin-based programme to detect people with undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes (intermediate hyperglycaemia), notably impaired glucose tolerance, for early intervention. The systematic data collection will create real-world evidence to bring out the best of metformin and make healthcare sustainable, affordable and accessible.

Impaired GK-GKRP interaction rather than direct GK activation worsens lipid profiles and contributes to long-term complications: a Mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

Glucokinase (GK) plays a key role in glucose metabolism. In the liver, GK is regulated by GK regulatory protein (GKRP) with nuclear sequestration at low plasma glucose level. Some GK activators (GKAs) disrupt GK-GKRP interaction which increases hepatic cytoplasmic GK level. Excess hepatic GK activity may exceed the capacity of glycogen synthesis with excess triglyceride formation. It remains uncertain whether hypertriglyceridemia associated with some GKAs in previous clinical trials was due to direct GK activation or impaired GK-GKRP interaction.

METHODS

Using publicly available genome-wide association study summary statistics, we selected independent genetic variants of GCKR and GCK associated with fasting plasma glucose (FPG) as instrumental variables, to mimic the effects of impaired GK-GKRP interaction and direct GK activation, respectively. We applied two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) framework to assess their causal associations with lipid-related traits, risks of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and cardiovascular diseases. We verified these findings in one-sample MR analysis using individual-level statistics from the Hong Kong Diabetes Register (HKDR).

RESULTS

Genetically-proxied impaired GK-GKRP interaction increased plasma triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels with increased odds ratio (OR) of 14.6 (95% CI 4.57-46.4) per 1 mmol/L lower FPG for MASLD and OR of 2.92 (95% CI 1.78-4.81) for coronary artery disease (CAD). Genetically-proxied GK activation was associated with decreased risk of CAD (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.54-0.88) and not with dyslipidemia. One-sample MR validation in HKDR showed consistent results.

CONCLUSIONS

Impaired GK-GKRP interaction, rather than direct GK activation, may worsen lipid profiles and increase risks of MASLD and CAD. Development of future GKAs should avoid interfering with GK-GKRP interaction.

Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on diagnosing, monitoring, and prescribing in people with diabetes and strategies for diabetes service recovery internationally

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions in clinical services for people with chronic long-term conditions. In this narrative review, we assess the indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on diabetes services globally and the resulting adverse effects on rates of diagnosing, monitoring, and prescribing in people with type 2 diabetes. We summarise potential practical approaches that could address these issues and improve clinical services and outcomes for people living with diabetes during the recovery phase of the pandemic.

Clinical outcomes following discontinuation of metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease in Hong Kong: a territory-wide, retrospective cohort and target trial emulation study

Background

Current labelling advises discontinuation of metformin when estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2 due to increased risk of lactic acidosis. However, in real-world practice, the risk-benefit ratios remain uncertain. We examined the risk associations of discontinued-metformin use with cardiorenal and clinical outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and advanced chronic kidney disease.

Methods

In this territory-wide, retrospective cohort and target trial emulation study, we included Chinese patients attending the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA) and enrolled in the Risk-Assessment-and-Management-Programme-for-Diabetes-Mellitus (RAMP-DM) from 2002 to 2019. Patients were stratified by discontinuation of metformin within six months after reaching eGFR < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2 from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2018, and followed up until December 31 2019. We excluded patients who had observational time <6 months from eGFR < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2, and had their eGFR measured during a hospitalisation episode due to acute kidney injury, or missing diagnosis date of diabetes. We compared the risk associations of metformin discontinuation with clinical outcomes. The primary outcomes were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), cancer, and all-cause mortality. A Cox-model with time-dependent exposure and covariates was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of outcomes in a propensity-score overlap-weighted cohort. The risk of occurrence of lactic acidosis (serum lactate > 5.0 mmol/L with a concomitant blood pH < 7.35 or ICD-9 codes of 276.2) in discontinued-metformin versus continued-metformin users was assessed in a separate register-based cohort.

Findings

A total of 33,586 metformin users with new-onset eGFR < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2 were included in the study, 7500 (22.3%) of whom discontinued metformin within 6 months whereas 26,086 (77.7%) continued use of metformin. During a median follow-up of 3.8 (IQR: 2.2-6.1) years, 16.4% (5505/33,586), 30.1% (10,113/33,586), and 7.1% (2171/30,682) had incident MACE, ESKD, and cancer respectively, and 44.4% (14,917/33,586) died. Compared to continued-metformin use, discontinuation was associated with higher risk of MACE (weighted and adjusted HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.29-1.52), ESKD (HR = 1.52, 1.42-1.62), and death (HR = 1.22, 1.18-1.27). No association was observed for cancer (HR = 0.93, 0.85-1.01). Discontinued-metformin users had higher change in HbA1c change at 6-month of follow-up versus continued-metformin users (weighted mean HbA1c level change: 0.5% [0.4-0.6%] versus 0.2% [0.1-0.2]). In the separate register-based cohort (n = 3235), null association was observed between metformin use and risk of lactic acidosis (weighted HR = 0.94 [0.53-1.64]).

Interpretation

Our results suggest that discontinuation of metformin in patients with T2D and chronic kidney disease may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular-renal events. Use of metformin below eGFR of 30 ml/min/1.73 m2 may be associated with cardiovascular, renal, and mortality benefits that need to be weighed against the risk of lactic acidosis, but further research is needed to validate these findings.

Funding

CUHK Impact Research Fellowship Scheme.

Young-Onset Diabetes in East Asians: From Epidemiology to Precision Medicine

Precision diagnosis is the keystone of clinical medicine. In East Asians, classical type 1 diabetes is uncommon in patients with youngonset diabetes diagnosed before age of 40, in whom a family history, obesity, and beta-cell and kidney dysfunction are key features. Young-onset diabetes affects one in five Asian adults with diabetes in clinic settings; however, it is often misclassified, resulting in delayed or non-targeted treatment. Complex aetiologies, long disease duration, aggressive clinical course, and a lack of evidence-based guidelines have contributed to variable care standards and premature death in these young patients. The high burden of comorbidities, notably mental illness, highlights the numerous knowledge gaps related to this silent killer. The majority of adult patients with youngonset diabetes are managed as part of a heterogeneous population of patients with various ages of diagnosis. A multidisciplinary care team led by physicians with special interest in young-onset diabetes will help improve the precision of diagnosis and address their physical, mental, and behavioral health. To this end, payors, planners, and providers need to align and re-design the practice environment to gather data systematically during routine practice to elucidate the multicausality of young-onset diabetes, treat to multiple targets, and improve outcomes in these vulnerable individuals.

Trends in all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults with and without diabetes: A territory-wide analysis in one million older adults in Hong Kong

AIMS

Direct comparisons of population-level trends in all-cause and cause-specific mortalities among older adults with and without diabetes are lacking.

METHODS

We performed a territory-wide analysis of 1,142,000 unique older adults aged ≥ 65 years (31.7 % with diabetes) with at least one attendance in the Hong Kong Hospital Authority in 2014-2018. We used Joinpoint regression to describe trends of age- and sex-standardised all-cause and cause-specific mortalities (cardiovascular disease [CVD], cancer, and non-CVD and non-cancer) in older adults with and without diabetes.

RESULTS

All-cause mortality decreased in older adults with (average annual percent change [AAPC] = -1.6, 95 % confidence interval [-2.7, -0.4]) and without (AAPC = -3.1 [-4.2, -2.1]) diabetes. Largest declines were seen for CVD-cause mortalities for people with and without diabetes (AAPC = -5.5 [-6.8, -4.1] vs AAPC = -5.8 [-8.6, -2.9], respectively). Cancer-cause mortalities were similar in both groups with no change. Men with diabetes showed less favourable improvements. An increasing mortality trend was seen only in the 65-69 age-group regardless of diabetes status.

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality continued to decline in older adults with and without diabetes, mainly driven by a decline in CVD deaths, with no narrowing of the mortality gap. Our findings call for continued actions to address excess mortalities especially in older men with diabetes and younger older adults.

Changing landscape of diabetes in Asia - What are the unmet needs?

The incidence rates of type 2 diabetes among adults in Asia have been stable, but the rates in youth and young adults have increased. In territory-wide surveillance in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of People's Republic of China, all-cause mortality rates among people with diabetes have exhibited a declining trend in the past 15 years, with a narrowing in the mortality gap between people with and without diabetes. At the same time, the improvement in survival resulted in a changing age structure and disease profile of people with diabetes, towards an increasing proportion of older people with long diabetes duration and multi-morbidities. Reductions in event rates were not observed in the youngest age group who also had the least gains in risk factor control and uptake in organ protective drugs over time. A young age at diabetes diagnosis, associated with exposure to high glycemic burden from an early age, predicted higher risks of complications and premature mortality compared with later-onset of diabetes. People presenting with type 2 diabetes below 40 years of age were 5-fold more likely to die and their life expectancy was shortened by 8 years than age-matched counterparts without diabetes. Analysis of population-based data in Hong Kong Chinese identified hypertension followed by chronic kidney disease as the leading contributor to mortality in young people, indicating that efforts to optimize non-glycemic risk factors and organ protection are as important in young individuals as it is in the older population.

A novel electronic health record-based, machine-learning model to predict severe hypoglycemia leading to hospitalizations in older adults with diabetes: A territory-wide cohort and modeling study

BACKGROUND

Older adults with diabetes are at high risk of severe hypoglycemia (SH). Many machine-learning (ML) models predict short-term hypoglycemia are not specific for older adults and show poor precision-recall. We aimed to develop a multidimensional, electronic health record (EHR)-based ML model to predict one-year risk of SH requiring hospitalization in older adults with diabetes.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

We adopted a case-control design for a retrospective territory-wide cohort of 1,456,618 records from 364,863 unique older adults (age ≥65 years) with diabetes and at least 1 Hong Kong Hospital Authority attendance from 2013 to 2018. We used 258 predictors including demographics, admissions, diagnoses, medications, and routine laboratory tests in a one-year period to predict SH events requiring hospitalization in the following 12 months. The cohort was randomly split into training, testing, and internal validation sets in a 7:2:1 ratio. Six ML algorithms were evaluated including logistic-regression, random forest, gradient boost machine, deep neural network (DNN), XGBoost, and Rulefit. We tested our model in a temporal validation cohort in the Hong Kong Diabetes Register with predictors defined in 2018 and outcome events defined in 2019. Predictive performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC) statistics, and positive predictive value (PPV). We identified 11,128 SH events requiring hospitalization during the observation periods. The XGBoost model yielded the best performance (AUROC = 0.978 [95% CI 0.972 to 0.984]; AUPRC = 0.670 [95% CI 0.652 to 0.688]; PPV = 0.721 [95% CI 0.703 to 0.739]). This was superior to an 11-variable conventional logistic-regression model comprised of age, sex, history of SH, hypertension, blood glucose, kidney function measurements, and use of oral glucose-lowering drugs (GLDs) (AUROC = 0.906; AUPRC = 0.085; PPV = 0.468). Top impactful predictors included non-use of lipid-regulating drugs, in-patient admission, urgent emergency triage, insulin use, and history of SH. External validation in the HKDR cohort yielded AUROC of 0.856 [95% CI 0.838 to 0.873]. Main limitations of this study included limited transportability of the model and lack of geographically independent validation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our novel-ML model demonstrated good discrimination and high precision in predicting one-year risk of SH requiring hospitalization. This may be integrated into EHR decision support systems for preemptive intervention in older adults at highest risk.

Associations of comorbid depression with cardiovascular-renal events and all-cause mortality accounting for patient reported outcomes in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a 6-year prospective analysis of the Hong Kong Diabetes Register

Background

Psychosocial status and patient reported outcomes (PRO) [depression and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL)] are major health determinants. We investigated the association between depression and clinical outcomes in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), adjusted for PRO.

Methods

Using prospective data from Hong Kong Diabetes Register (2013-2019), we estimated the hazard-ratio (HR, 95%CI) of depression (validated Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) score≥7) with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), chronic kidney disease (CKD: eGFR<60 ml/min/1.73m2) and all-cause mortality in 4525 Chinese patients with T2D adjusted for patient characteristics, renal function, medications, self-care and HRQoL domains (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression measured by EQ-5D-3L) in linear-regression models.

Results

In this cohort without prior events [mean ± SD age:55.7 ± 10.6, 43.7% women, median (IQR) disease duration of 7.0 (2.0-13.0) years, HbA1c, 7.2% (6.6%-8.20%), 26.4% insulin-treated], 537(11.9%) patients had depressive symptoms and 1923 (42.5%) patients had some problems with HRQoL at baseline. After 5.6(IQR: 4.4-6.2) years, 141 patients (3.1%) died, 533(11.8%) developed CKD and 164(3.6%) developed CVD. In a fully-adjusted model (model 4) including self-care and HRQoL, the aHR of depression was 1.99 (95% confidence interval CI):1.25-3.18) for CVD, 2.29 (1.25-4.21) for IHD. Depression was associated with all-cause mortality in models 1-3 adjusted for demographics, clinical characteristics and self-care, but was attenuated after adjusting for HRQoL (model 4- 1.54; 95%CI: 0.91-2.60), though HR still indicated same direction with important magnitude. Patients who reported having regular exercise (3-4 times per week) had reduced aHR of CKD [0.61 (0.41-0.89)]. Item 4 of PHQ-9 (feeling tired, little energy) was independently associated with all-cause mortality with aHR of 1.66 (1.30-2.12).

Conclusion

Depression exhibits significant association with CVD, IHD, and all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes, adjusting for their HRQoL and health behaviors. Despite the association between depression and all-cause mortality attenuated after adjusting for HRQoL, the effect size remains substantial. The feeling of tiredness or having little energy, as assessed by item Q4 of the PHQ-9 questionnaire, was found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality after covariate adjustments. Our findings emphasize the importance of incorporating psychiatric evaluations into holistic diabetes management.

Association between deep learning measured retinal vessel calibre and incident myocardial infarction in a retrospective cohort from the UK Biobank

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of global death. Prospective population-based studies have found that changes in retinal microvasculature are associated with the development of coronary artery disease. Recently, artificial intelligence deep learning (DL) algorithms have been developed for the fully automated assessment of retinal vessel calibres.

METHODS

In this study, we validate the association between retinal vessel calibres measured by a DL system (Singapore I Vessel Assessment) and incident myocardial infarction (MI) and assess its incremental performance in discriminating patients with and without MI when added to risk prediction models, using a large UK Biobank cohort.

RESULTS

Retinal arteriolar narrowing was significantly associated with incident MI in both the age, gender and fellow calibre-adjusted (HR=1.67 (95% CI: 1.19 to 2.36)) and multivariable models (HR=1.64 (95% CI: 1.16 to 2.32)) adjusted for age, gender and other cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes mellitus (DM) and cholesterol status. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve increased from 0.738 to 0.745 (p=0.018) in the age-gender-adjusted model and from 0.782 to 0.787 (p=0.010) in the multivariable model. The continuous net reclassification improvements (NRIs) were significant in the age and gender-adjusted (NRI=21.56 (95% CI: 3.33 to 33.42)) and the multivariable models (NRI=18.35 (95% CI: 6.27 to 32.61)). In the subgroup analysis, similar associations between retinal arteriolar narrowing and incident MI were observed, particularly for men (HR=1.62 (95% CI: 1.07 to 2.46)), non-smokers (HR=1.65 (95% CI: 1.13 to 2.42)), patients without DM (HR=1.73 (95% CI: 1.19 to 2.51)) and hypertensive patients (HR=1.95 (95% CI: 1.30 to 2.93)) in the multivariable models.

CONCLUSION

Our results support DL-based retinal vessel measurements as markers of incident MI in a predominantly Caucasian population.

What is meant by 'integrated personalized diabetes management': A view into the future and what success should look like

Integrated personalized diabetes management (IPDM) has emerged as a promising approach to improving outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). This care approach emphasizes the integration and coordination of different providers, including physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers and pharmacists. The goal of IPDM is to provide patients with personalized care that is tailored to their needs. This review addresses the concept of integrated care and the use of technology (including data, software applications and artificial intelligence) as well as managerial, regulatory and financial aspects. The implementation and upscaling of digitally enabled IPDM are discussed, with elaboration of successful practices and related evidence. Finally, recommendations are made. It is concluded that the adoption of digitally enabled IPDM on a global level is inevitable, considering the challenges created by an increasing prevalence of patients with DM and the need for better outcomes and improvement of health system sustainability.

Lessons and Applications of Omics Research in Diabetes Epidemiology

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Recent advances in genomic technology and molecular techniques have greatly facilitated the identification of disease biomarkers, advanced understanding of pathogenesis of different common diseases, and heralded the dawn of precision medicine. Much of these advances in the area of diabetes have been made possible through deep phenotyping of epidemiological cohorts, and analysis of the different omics data in relation to detailed clinical information. In this review, we aim to provide an overview on how omics research could be incorporated into the design of current and future epidemiological studies.

RECENT FINDINGS

We provide an up-to-date review of the current understanding in the area of genetic, epigenetic, proteomic and metabolomic markers for diabetes and related outcomes, including polygenic risk scores. We have drawn on key examples from the literature, as well as our own experience of conducting omics research using the Hong Kong Diabetes Register and Hong Kong Diabetes Biobank, as well as other cohorts, to illustrate the potential of omics research in diabetes. Recent studies highlight the opportunity, as well as potential benefit, to incorporate molecular profiling in the design and set-up of diabetes epidemiology studies, which can also advance understanding on the heterogeneity of diabetes. Learnings from these examples should facilitate other researchers to consider incorporating research on omics technologies into their work to advance the field and our understanding of diabetes and its related co-morbidities. Insights from these studies would be important for future development of precision medicine in diabetes.

Risk of Dementia Among Patients With Diabetes in a Multidisciplinary, Primary Care Management Program

Importance

Although poorly controlled diabetes is associated with a higher incidence of dementia, few studies have examined the association of diabetes management interventions with dementia incidence.

Objective

To examine the association of receiving a multidisciplinary diabetes management program (the Risk Assessment and Management Program-Diabetes Mellitus [RAMP-DM]) that enables better glycemic control with subsequent risk of dementia incidence and the association of dementia with glycemic control.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This territory-wide, retrospective, matched cohort study with more than 8 years of follow-up was conducted using electronic health care records from all the patients who used public health care services in Hong Kong from 2011 to 2019. Eligible participants included all patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who were managed in primary care settings. Patients who received RAMP-DM were matched in a 1:1 ratio with patients who received usual care only. Data analysis occurred from April 2023 to July 2023.

Exposures

Diagnosis of T2D, hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) level, and attendance at a general outpatient clinic or family medicine clinic. Patients received either RAMP-DM or usual care.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Incidence of all-cause dementia and subtypes of dementia were compared between the RAMP-DM and usual care participants using a Cox proportional hazard model with other baseline characteristics, biomarkers, and medication history adjusted. HbA1C levels were measured as a secondary outcome.

Results

Among the 55 618 matched participants (mean [SD] age, 62.28 [11.90] years; 28 561 female [51.4%]; 27 057 male [48.6%]), including the 27 809 patients in the RAMP-DM group and 27 809 patients in the usual care group, patients had been diagnosed with T2D for a mean (SD) of 5.90 (4.20) years. During a median (IQR) follow-up period of 8.4 (6.8-8.8) years, 1938 patients in the RAMP-DM group (6.97%) and 2728 patients in the usual care group (9.81%) received a diagnosis of dementia. Compared with those receiving usual care, RAMP-DM participants had a lower risk of developing all-cause dementia (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.72; 95% CI, 0.68-0.77; P < .001), Alzheimer disease (aHR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76-0.96; P = .009), vascular dementia (aHR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.51-0.73; P < .001), and other or unspecified dementia (aHR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.66-0.77; P < .001). Compared with having a mean HbA1C level during the first 3 years after cohort entry between 6.5% and 7.5%, a higher risk of dementia incidence was detected for patients with a 3-year mean HbA1C level greater than 8.5% (aHR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.31-1.80]), between 7.5% and 8.5% (aHR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.19-1.48), between 6% and 6.5% (aHR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.07-1.29), and 6% or less (aHR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.24-1.57).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cohort study of patients with T2D, the findings strengthened evidence of an association of glycemic control with dementia incidence, and revealed that a multidisciplinary primary care diabetes management program was associated with beneficial outcomes for T2D patients against dementia and its major subtypes. A moderate glycemic control target of HbA1C between 6.5% and 7.5% was associated with lower dementia incidence.

B. WM, Chiew TK, Chan SP. Real-world evaluation of care for type 2 diabetes in Malaysia: A cross-sectional analysis of the treatment adherence to guideline evaluation in type 2 diabetes (TARGET-T2D) study

AIM

Given a lack of data on diabetes care performance in Malaysia, we conducted a cross-sectional study to understand the clinical characteristics, control of cardiometabolic risk factors, and patterns of use of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), who were managed at publicly-funded hospitals between December 2021 and June 2022.

METHODS

Patients aged ≥18 years with T2D from eight publicly-funded hospitals in the Greater Kuala Lumpur region, who had ≥2 outpatient visits within the preceding year and irrespective of treatment regimen, were eligible. The primary outcome was ≥2 treatment target attainment (defined as either HbA1c <7.0%, blood pressure [BP] <130/80 mmHg, or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] <1.8 mmol/L). The secondary outcomes were the individual treatment target, a combination of all three treatment targets, and patterns of GDMT use. To assess for potential heterogeneity of study findings, all outcomes were stratified according to prespecified baseline characteristics namely 1) history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD; yes/no) and 2) clinic type (Diabetes specialist versus General medicine).

RESULTS

Among 5094 patients (mean±SD age 59.0±13.2 years; T2D duration 14.8±9.2 years; HbA1c 8.2±1.9% (66±21 mmol/mol); BMI 29.6±6.2 kg/m2; 45.6% men), 99% were at high/very high cardiorenal risk. Attainment of ≥2 treatment targets was at 18%, being higher in General medicine than in Diabetes specialist clinics (20.8% versus 17.5%; p = 0.039). The overall statin coverage was 90%. More patients with prior ASCVD attained LDL-C <1.4 mmol/L than those without (13.5% versus 8.4%; p<0.001). Use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (13.2% versus 43.2%), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs) (1.0% versus 6.2%), and insulin (27.7% versus 58.1%) were lower in General medicine than in Diabetes specialist clinics.

CONCLUSIONS

Among high-risk patients with T2D, treatment target attainment and use of GDMT were suboptimal.

1-year weight change after diabetes diagnosis and long-term incidence and sustainability of remission of type 2 diabetes in real-world settings in Hong Kong: An observational cohort study

BACKGROUND

Clinical trials have demonstrated that remission of type 2 diabetes can be achieved following sustained weight loss. However, the feasibility of achieving diabetes remission through weight management in real-world settings remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to examine the association of weight change at 1 year after diabetes diagnosis with long-term incidence and sustainability of type 2 diabetes remission in real-world settings in Hong Kong.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

This was a population-based observational cohort study. The territory-wide Risk Assessment and Management Programme for Diabetes Mellitus (RAMP-DM) provides regular comprehensive assessments of metabolic control and complication screening for people with diabetes in Hong Kong. We included 37,326 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes who were enrolled in the RAMP-DM between 2000 and 2017, followed until 2019. Diabetes remission was defined as 2 consecutive HbA1c <6.5% measurements at least 6 months apart in the absence of glucose-lowering drugs (GLDs) and with no record of GLDs at least 3 months before these measurements. During a median follow-up of 7.9 years, 6.1% (2,279) of people achieved diabetes remission, with an incidence rate of 7.8 (95% CI: 7.5, 8.1) per 1,000 person-years. After adjusting for age at diabetes diagnosis, sex, assessment year, body mass index, other metabolic indices, smoking, alcohol drinking, and medication use, the hazard ratio (HR) for diabetes remission was 3.28 (95% CI: 2.75, 3.92; p < 0.001) for people with ≥10% weight loss within 1 year of diagnosis, 2.29 (95% CI: 2.03, 2.59; p < 0.001) for those with 5% to 9.9% weight loss, and 1.34 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.47; p < 0.001) for those with 0% to 4.9% weight loss compared to people with weight gain. During a median follow-up of 3.1 years, 67.2% (1,531) of people who had achieved diabetes remission returned to hyperglycaemia, with an incidence rate of 184.8 (95% CI: 175.5, 194.0) per 1,000 person-years. The adjusted HR for returning to hyperglycaemia was 0.52 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.65; p < 0.001) for people with ≥10% weight loss, 0.78 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.92; p = 0.002) for those with 5% to 9.9% weight loss, and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.80, 1.01; p = 0.073) for those with 0% to 4.9% weight loss compared to people with weight gain. Diabetes remission was associated with a 31% (HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.93; p = 0.014) decreased risk of all-cause mortality. The main limitation of the study is that the reliability of HbA1c used to define diabetes remission can be affected by other medical conditions. Furthermore, we did not have data on bariatric surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, greater weight loss within the first year of diabetes diagnosis was associated with an increased likelihood of achieving diabetes remission and a decreased risk of returning to hyperglycaemia among those who had achieved diabetes remission. However, both the incidence of diabetes remission and the probability of its long-term sustainability were low with conventional management in real-world settings, in an era when the importance of weight loss was not fully appreciated. Our study provides evidence for policymakers to design and implement early weight management interventions and diabetes remission initiatives.

The case for precision medicine in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases in low-income and middle-income countries

Cardiometabolic diseases are the leading preventable causes of death in most geographies. The causes, clinical presentations, and pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases vary greatly worldwide, as do the resources and strategies needed to prevent and treat them. Therefore, there is no single solution and health care should be optimised, if not to the individual (ie, personalised health care), then at least to population subgroups (ie, precision medicine). This optimisation should involve tailoring health care to individual disease characteristics according to ethnicity, biology, behaviour, environment, and subjective person-level characteristics. The capacity and availability of local resources and infrastructures should also be considered. Evidence needed for equitable precision medicine cannot be generated without adequate data from all target populations, and the idea that research done in high-income countries will transfer adequately to low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is problematic, as many migration studies and transethnic comparisons have shown. However, most data for precision medicine research are derived from people of European ancestry living in high-income countries. In this Series paper, we discuss the case for precision medicine for cardiometabolic diseases in LMICs, the barriers and enablers, and key considerations for implementation. We focus on three propositions: first, failure to explore and implement precision medicine for cardiometabolic disease in LMICs will enhance global health disparities. Second, some LMICs might already be placed to implement cardiometabolic precision medicine under appropriate circumstances, owing to progress made in treating infectious diseases. Third, improvements in population health from precision medicine are most probably asymptotic; the greatest gains are more likely to be obtained in countries where health-care systems are less developed. We outline key recommendations for implementation of precision medicine approaches in LMICs.

Trends in all-cause mortality among adults with diagnosed type 2 diabetes in West Malaysia: 2010 - 2019

AIMS

We determined 10-year all-cause mortality trends in diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) population in West Malaysia, a middle-income country in the Western-Pacific region.

METHODS

One million T2D people aged 40-79 registered in the National Diabetes Registry (2009-2018) were linked to death records (censored on 31 December 2019). Standardized absolute mortality rates and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were estimated relative to the Malaysian general population, and standardized to the 2019 registry population with respect to sex, age group, and disease duration.

RESULTS

Overall all-cause standardized mortality rates were unchanged in both sexes. Rates increased in males aged 40-49 (annual average percent change [AAPC]: 2.46 % [95 % CI 0.42 %, 4.55 %]) and 50-59 (AAPC: 1.91 % [95 % CI 0.73 %, 3.10 %]), and females aged 40-49 (AAPC: 3.39 % [95 % CI 1.32 %, 5.50 %]). In both sexes, rates increased among those with 1) > 15 years disease duration, 2) prior cardiovascular disease, and 3) Bumiputera (Malay/native) ethnicity. The overall SMR was 1.83 (95 % CI 1.80, 1.86) for males and 1.85 (95 % CI 1.82, 1.89) for females, being higher in younger age groups and showed an increasing trend in those with either > 15 years disease duration or prior cardiovascular disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality trends worsened in certain T2D population in Malaysia.

The Role of Real-World Evidence in Treatment Decision-Making, Regulatory Assessment, and Understanding the Perspectives of People with Type 2 Diabetes: Examples with Gliclazide MR

Real-world evidence (RWE) plays an important role in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D). It provides data about the effectiveness and safety of an intervention from outside the randomised controlled trial (RCT) setting and allows healthcare professionals (HCPs) to determine if RCT data are applicable to their patients in routine clinical practice. This review provides a discussion of the value of RWE in T2D management in day-to-day clinical practice, with a focus on RWE with sulfonylureas (SUs), and presents two examples of a new generation of international real-world studies in people with T2D managed in routine clinical practice. RWE plays a valuable role in advising HCPs in the day-to-day management of T2D, informing regulatory authorities with regard to pharmacovigilance and post-approval updates, and providing insights with regard to patients' treatment adherence and preference. RWE should be used alongside RCTs to increase HCP awareness and understanding of their patients' perspectives, potentially allowing for improvements in treatment adherence, glycaemic control and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). In addition, real-world studies must be conducted in a way that generates robust RWE by limiting the risks of bias and confounding as much as possible. A growing body of RWE is emerging from Asia. For example, in a preliminary HRQoL analysis of the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) Register, Asian people with T2D had better HRQoL with gliclazide-based treatment than with other SU agents, despite being older and having more diabetes-related complications.

Association of insomnia with incident chronic cognitive impairment in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A prospective study of the Hong Kong Diabetes Register

AIMS

To examine the risk association of insomnia with incident chronic cognitive impairment in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).

METHODS

Between July 2010 and June 2015, patients with T2D aged ≥60 years enrolled in the Hong Kong Diabetes Register completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) questionnaire. Patients were considered having insomnia if they had ISI score > 14. We prospectively followed up the cohort and censored outcome through reviewing diagnoses and clinical notes entered by attending physicians in electronic medical record to identify incident cases of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

RESULTS

After excluding shift workers and those with established chronic cognitive impairment at baseline, we included 986 patients with T2D in this study (58.3 % men, mean age ± standard deviation: 62.5 ± 2.6 years, disease duration of diabetes: 10.7 ± 8.2 years, HbA1c: 7.4 ± 1.3 %, insulin users: 28.7 %, insomnia: 9.1 %). After a median follow-up of 7.6 (interquartile range = 2.0) years, 41 (4.2 %) developed chronic cognitive impairment. Using Cox regression analysis, insomnia (hazard ratio, HR 2.909, p = 0.012) and HbA1c ≥ 7 % (HR 2.300, p = 0.038) were positively associated with incident chronic cognitive impairment while insulin use (HR 0.309, p = 0.028) showed negative association.

CONCLUSIONS

Insomnia, suboptimal glycemic control and non-insulin use are independent risk factors for incident chronic cognitive impairment in older adults with T2D.

Real-world evidence on health-related quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using sulphonylureas: An analysis of the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) Register

AIMS

To describe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and identify associated factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with oral glucose-lowering drugs (OGLDs).

METHODS

This retrospective, cross-sectional analysis included adults with T2DM from 11 Asian countries/regions prospectively enrolled in the Joint Asian Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) Register (2007-2019) with available EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D-3L) data.

RESULTS

Of 47,895 included patients, 42,813 were treated with OGLDs + lifestyle modifications (LSM) and 5,082 with LSM only. Among those treated with OGLDs, 60% received sulphonylureas (SUs), of whom 47% received gliclazide. The OGLD + LSM group had a lower mean EQ-5D-3L index score than the LSM-only group (p < 0.001). The most affected EQ-5D-3L dimensions in OGLD + LSM-treated patients were pain/discomfort (26.2%) and anxiety/depression (22.6%). On multivariate analysis, good HRQoL was positively associated with male sex, education level, balanced diet and regular exercise, and negatively with complications/comorbidities, self-reported hypoglycaemia, smoking, HbA1c, age, body mass index and disease duration. Patients receiving gliclazide vs non-gliclazide SUs had lower HbA1c and better HRQoL in all dimensions (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Demographic, physical and psychosocial-behavioural factors were associated with HRQoL in patients with T2DM. Our real-world data add to previous evidence that gliclazide is an effective OGLD, with most treated patients reporting good HRQoL. A plain language summary of this manuscript is available here.

Advanced liver fibrosis predicts heart failure and hospitalizations in people with type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort study from Hong Kong Diabetes Register

AIMS

We aimed to examine the impact of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on the clinical outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

Between 2013 and 2014, 1,734 patients with T2D underwent transient elastography (TE) to assess liver status indicated by controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM). Liver steatosis was defined by CAP ≥248 dB/m and advanced liver fibrosis by LSM ≥10kPa. In 2019, we assessed their clinical outcomes including hospitalizations and mortality.

RESULTS

In this prospective cohort [56% men, mean (±standard deviation) age:60.8±11.5 years; glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c)7.8±1.6 %], 798 patients had liver steatosis, 296 patients had advanced liver fibrosis and 640 patients had normal liver at baseline. T2D with advanced liver fibrosis had higher body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, fasting plasma glucose, HbA_1c, blood pressure and lipid profiles than their counterparts with NAFLD or normal liver (all p<0.05). After a median follow-up of 6.07 (interquartile range:5.84 to 6.30) years, there were 4,403 incident hospitalizations, 32,119 days of hospital stay, and 171 deaths. Using Cox regression analysis, advanced liver fibrosis was associated with increased risk of heart failure (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] HR:3.07[1.08-8.68], p=0.035) and hospitalizations (HR: 1.39[1.14 -1.70], p=0.001) while liver steatosis was associated with reduced mortality (HR:0.60[0.41-0.87], p=0.007) compared to their counterparts with normal liver after adjustment for potential confounders.

CONCLUSIONS

T2D comorbid with liver steatosis and advanced liver fibrosis are distinct clinical entities with differences in outcomes. Advanced liver fibrosis is an important predictor for worse outcomes including heart failure and hospitalizations in people with T2D.

A multicentre, prospective, non-interventional study evaluating the safety of dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes in routine clinical practice in China (DONATE)

BACKGROUND

There are few large-scale studies evaluating the safety of the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, dapagliflozin, in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. DONATE, a multicentre, single-arm, prospective, non-interventional study, is the first real-world study evaluating the safety of dapagliflozin in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes in routine clinical practice.

METHODS

Between August 2017 and July 2020, patients with type 2 diabetes who had initiated dapagliflozin therapy and received ≥1 dose were prospectively recruited from 88 hospitals in China. Patients were subsequently followed up for 24 weeks; if patients discontinued dapagliflozin they were followed up for an additional 7 days after treatment discontinuation. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with adverse events and serious adverse events, particularly key adverse events of special interest (AESI) including urinary tract infection, genital tract infection (typical symptoms with or without microbiological diagnosis) and hypoglycaemia (typical symptoms with or without blood glucose ≤3.9 mmol/L, or blood glucose ≤3.9 mmol/L without symptoms). Exploratory outcomes included the absolute change in metabolic parameters and the proportion of patients with other AESI including volume depletion, abnormal blood electrolytes, polyuria, renal impairment, diabetic ketoacidosis, hepatic impairment and haematuria.

RESULTS

A total of 3000 patients were enrolled, of whom 2990 (99.7%) were included in the safety analysis set. Mean (SD) age was 52.6 (12.0) years, and 65.8% of patients were male. Mean (SD) duration of type 2 diabetes at enrolment was 8.4 (7.1) years. Mean (SD) treatment duration of dapagliflozin was 209.1 (157.6) days. Adverse events were reported in 35.4% (n = 1059) of patients during the 24-week follow-up period. Overall, 9.0% (n = 268) were related to treatment and 6.2% (n = 186) were serious. Urinary tract infection, genital tract infection and hypoglycaemia were reported in 2.3% (n = 70), 1.3% (n = 39) and 1.1% (n = 32) of patients, respectively. The proportion of patients with other AESI was also low: polyuria (0.7%; n = 21), volume depletion (0.3%; n = 9), renal impairment (0.3%; n = 8), hepatic impairment (0.2%; n = 7), haematuria (0.2%; n = 6) and diabetic ketoacidosis (0.1%; n = 2).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that once-daily dapagliflozin was well tolerated in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes and the overall safety profile of dapagliflozin in clinical practice in China was consistent with that reported in clinical trials.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03156985. Registered on 16 May, 2017.

DNA methylation markers for kidney function and progression of diabetic kidney disease

Epigenetic markers are potential biomarkers for diabetes and related complications. Using a prospective cohort from the Hong Kong Diabetes Register, we perform two independent epigenome-wide association studies to identify methylation markers associated with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and subsequent decline in kidney function (eGFR slope), respectively, in 1,271 type 2 diabetes subjects. Here we show 40 (30 previously unidentified) and eight (all previously unidentified) CpG sites individually reach epigenome-wide significance for baseline eGFR and eGFR slope, respectively. We also develop a multisite analysis method, which selects 64 and 37 CpG sites for baseline eGFR and eGFR slope, respectively. These models are validated in an independent cohort of Native Americans with type 2 diabetes. Our identified CpG sites are near genes enriched for functional roles in kidney diseases, and some show association with renal damage. This study highlights the potential of methylation markers in risk stratification of kidney disease among type 2 diabetes individuals.

Team-Based Diabetes Care in Ontario and Hong Kong: a Comparative Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

There are gaps in implementing and accessing team-based diabetes care. We reviewed and compared how team-based diabetes care was implemented in the primary care contexts of Ontario and Hong Kong.

RECENT FINDINGS

Ontario's Diabetes Education Programs (DEPs) were scaled-up incrementally. Hong Kong's Multidisciplinary Risk Assessment and Management Program for Diabetes Mellitus (RAMP-DM) evolved from a research-driven quality improvement program. Each jurisdiction had a mixture of non-team and team-based primary care with variable accessibility. Referral procedures, follow-up processes, and financing models varied. DEPs used a flexible approach, while the RAMP-DM used structured assessment for quality assurance. Each approach depended on adequate infrastructure, processes, and staff. Diabetes care is most accessible and functional when integrated team-based services are automatically initiated upon diabetes diagnosis within a strong primary care system, ideally linked to a register with supports including specialist care. Structured assessment and risk stratification are the basis of a well-studied, evidence-based approach for achieving the standards of team-based diabetes care, although flexibility in care delivery may be needed to meet the unique needs of some individuals. Policymakers and funders should ensure investment in skilled health professionals, infrastructure, and processes to improve care quality.

Adjusting the Use of Glucose-Lowering Agents in the Real-World Clinical Management of People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Narrative Review

Despite the availability of new treatment classes, glycaemic control in patients with diabetes remains suboptimal globally. The latter is associated with high risk of premature mortality related to diabetes and its microvascular and macrovascular complications. Practice guidelines typically focus on glycated haemoglobin < 7.0% as a therapeutic goal in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Reducing glycated haemoglobin has been proven to reduce the risk of these complications while early attainment of glycaemic goal can have a legacy effect in later life. Both glucocentric and cardiorenal-centric treatment strategies have complementary effects in reducing the trajectory of cardiorenal diseases. In real-word settings, implementation of practice guidelines developed in the USA and Europe may not be applicable to regions such as Asia, where differences in epidemiology, patient phenotypes, cultures, resource availability, and treatment affordability are important considerations. In the present review, we discuss the need to use a pragmatic, albeit evidence-based approach, to combine glucocentric and cardiorenal risk reduction strategies to improve the outcomes in patients with T2D, with particular relevance to Asia Pacific.

Cardiorenal diseases in type 2 diabetes mellitus: clinical trials and real-world practice

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can have multiple comorbidities and premature mortality due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, hospitalization with heart failure and/or chronic kidney disease. Traditional drugs that lower glucose, such as metformin, or that treat high blood pressure and blood levels of lipids, such as renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors and statins, have organ-protective effects in patients with T2DM. Amongst patients with T2DM treated with these traditional drugs, randomized clinical trials have confirmed the additional cardiorenal benefits of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) and nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. The cardiorenal benefits of SGLT2i extended to patients with heart failure and/or chronic kidney disease without T2DM, whereas incretin-based therapy (such as GLP1RA) reduced cardiovascular events in patients with obesity and T2DM. However, considerable care gaps exist owing to insufficient detection, therapeutic inertia and poor adherence to these life-saving medications. In this Review, we discuss the complex interconnections of cardiorenal-metabolic diseases and strategies to implement evidence-based practice. Furthermore, we consider the need to conduct clinical trials combined with registers in specific patient segments to evaluate existing and emerging therapies to address unmet needs in T2DM.

Barriers and Enablers to Implementing Peer Specialists in Veterans Health Administration Primary Care: a Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Peer specialists (PSs) are increasingly deployed in a variety of settings to provide patient-centered care. In the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), efforts are underway to integrate PSs into primary care settings. Little is known about the barriers and enablers to implementing PS services in primary care.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize barriers and enablers to implementing PSs in primary care.

DESIGN

Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.

PARTICIPANTS

PSs and their supervisors from 25 VHA primary care settings.

APPROACH

PSs and supervisors were interviewed about their experiences integrating PSs in primary care. Rapid analysis was conducted to identify barriers and enablers to PS integration, as well as to examine the role of external facilitation in implementation experiences.

KEY RESULTS

Fifty-two interviews were completed (25 PSs from 19 sites and 27 supervisors from 24 sites). Barriers and enablers to PS integration in VHA primary care settings included PS role clarity and constraints, provider buy-in, supervision, leadership support, and primary care culture. The barriers and enablers were consistent across both external facilitation and control sites.

CONCLUSIONS

Results describe how the characteristics of the innovation, the recipients, and the context impact successful implementation of PSs in primary care settings. The identification of barriers and enablers holds promise for improving future efforts to embed PSs in primary care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This project is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with number NCT02732600 (URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02732600 ).

Real-world usage of sulphonylureas in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes using the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) register

AIMS

To explore the patterns of use of oral glucose-lowering drugs (OGLDs) in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), focusing on sulphonylureas (SUs), and to describe patient profiles according to treatment regimen.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from adults with T2D from 11 Asian countries/regions with structured assessment enrolled in the prospective Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) register between November 2007 and December 2019. Patients receiving insulin and/or injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists were excluded.

RESULTS

Amongst 62 512 patients (mean ± standard deviation age: 57.3 ± 11.8 years; 53.6% men), 54 783 (87.6%) were treated with OGLDs at enrolment. Most received one (37.5%) or two (44.2%) OGLDs. In the entire cohort, 59.4% of treated patients received SU-based therapy with variations amongst countries/regions. Overall, 79.5% of SU regimens were based on SUs plus metformin, and 22.1% on SUs plus dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. Among SU users, gliclazide was most commonly prescribed (46.7%), followed by glimepiride (40.0%) and glibenclamide (8.1%). More gliclazide users entered the cohort with glycated haemoglobin levels <53 mmol/mol (7%) than non-gliclazide SU users (odds ratio [OR] 1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.17), with less frequent self-reported hypoglycaemia in the 3 months before registration (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.72-0.92; adjusted for sociodemographic factors, cardiometabolic risk factors, complications, use of other OGLDs, country/region and year of registration).

CONCLUSION

In Asia, SUs are a popular OGLD class, often combined with metformin. Good glycaemic control and safety profiles associated with the use of SUs, including gliclazide, support their position as a key treatment option in patients with T2D.

Effects of mobile health interventions on health-related outcomes in older adults with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic condition that is associated with multiple comorbidities. Apart from pharmacological approaches, patient self-management remains the gold standard of care for diabetes. Improving patients' self-management among the elderly with mobile health (mHealth) interventions is critical, especially in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the extent of mHealth efficacy in managing T2DM in the older population remains unknown. Hence, the present review examined the effectiveness of mHealth interventions on cardiometabolic outcomes in older adults with T2DM.

METHODS

A systematic search from the inception till May 31, 2021, in the MEDLINE, Embase, and PubMed databases was conducted, and 16 randomized controlled trials were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

The results showed significant benefits on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (mean difference -0.24%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.44, -0.05; p = 0.01), postprandial blood glucose (-2.91 mmol/L; 95% CI: -4.78, -1.03; p = 0.002), and triglycerides (-0.09 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.17, -0.02; p = 0.010), but not on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-0.06 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.14, 0.02; p = 0.170), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.05 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.03, 0.13; p = 0.220), and blood pressure (systolic blood pressure -0.82 mm Hg; 95% CI: -4.65, 3.00; p = 0.670; diastolic blood pressure -1.71 mmHg; 95% CI: -3.71, 0.29; p = 0.090).

CONCLUSIONS

Among older adults with T2DM, mHealth interventions were associated with improved cardiometabolic outcomes versus usual care. Its efficacy can be improved in the future as the current stage of mHealth development is at its infancy. Addressing barriers such as technological frustrations may help strategize approaches to further increase the uptake and efficacy of mHealth interventions among older adults with T2DM.

Initiation of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors at lower HbA1c threshold attenuates eGFR decline in type 2 diabetes patients with and without cardiorenal disease: A propensity-matched cohort study

AIM

To examine the association of initiation of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) at lower glycemic threshold with decline in estimated-glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

METHODS

We analyzed a prospective cohort of Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes from Hong Kong. Patients initiating SGLT2i at HbA1c < 7.5 % (lower-HbA1c) versus ≥ 7.5 % (higher-HbA1c) were matched using 1:1 propensity score. We compared annual eGFR changes in the lower-HbA1c and higher-HbA1c groups using linear mixed-effect models. Binary logistic regression was used to explore associations of SGLT2i initiation at lower HbA1c with odds of rapid eGFR decline (>4% per year).

RESULTS

Among 3384 patients with a median follow-up of 1.9 years, the mean age was 60.2 ± 11.5 years and 62.1 % were male. The lower-HbA1c and higher-HbA1c groups had baseline HbA1c (%) of 6.9 ± 0.5 and 9.0 ± 1.3 respectively, with similar pre-index annual eGFR decline. The lower-HbA1c group had a slower post-index annual eGFR decline than the higher-HbA1c group (-0.99 versus -1.63 mL/min/1.73 m², p < 0.001). Overall, the lower-HbA1c group had lower odds of rapid eGFR decline (OR = 0.15, 95 % CI: 0.07-0.29). Greater renoprotection from SGLT2i initiation at lower-HbA1c was observed in those with baseline eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m², albuminuria and/or treatment with renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors or insulin.

CONCLUSIONS

In this real-world study, SGLT2i initiation at HbA1c < 7.5 % was associated with slower eGFR decline especially in high risk patients, supporting the potential renal benefits of SGLT2i initiation at lower glycemic thresholds.

Clinical outcomes following discontinuation of renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease: A prospective cohort study

Background

Renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors (RASi), that include angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) reduce proteinuria, delay chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression, protect against cardiovascular events and heart failure hospitalizations. We examined the associations of discontinuation of ACEi/ARBs with risk of clinical outcomes in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and advanced-CKD (estimated-glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <30 ml/min/1.73 m2).

Methods

We conducted a prospective, population-based cohort study including 10,400 patients with T2D in Hong Kong stratified by continuation of ACEi/ARBs within 6 months after reaching eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m2 from January 01, 2002 to December 31, 2018 and observed until December 31, 2019. The primary outcomes were death, major-adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), heart failure, end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), and all-cause mortality. Cox-model with time-dependent exposure and covariates was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of outcomes in a propensity-score overlap-weighted cohort. The risk of occurrence of hyperkalemia (plasma potassium >5.5 mmol/L) in discontinued-ACEi/ARBs versus continued-ACEi/ARBs users was assessed in a register-based cohort.

Findings

In the population-based cohort of 10,400 ACEi/ARBs users with new-onset eGFR<30 ml/min/1.73 m2, 1766 (17.0%) discontinued ACEi/ARBs and 8634 (83.0%) persisted with treatment. During a median follow-up of 3.6 (interquartile range, IQR: 2.11-5.8) years (41,623 person-years), 13.5%, 12.9%, and 27.6% had incident MACE, heart failure and ESKD respectively, and 35.8% died. Discontinued-ACEi/ARBs use was associated with higher risk of MACE (HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.08-1.49), heart failure (HR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.53-2.25) and ESKD (HR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.17-1.43), and neutral risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86-1.01) compared to counterparts with continued use. In the register-based cohort (583 discontinued-ACEi/ARBs users and 3817 continued-ACEi/ARBs users), discontinued-ACEi/ARBs had neutral risk of hyperkalemia (HR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.84-1.08).

Interpretation

Discontinuation of ACEi/ARBs was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular-renal events supporting their continued use in patients with T2D and advanced-CKD.

Funding

CUHK Impact Research Fellowship Scheme.

High-density lipoprotein subclasses and cardiovascular disease and mortality in type 2 diabetes: analysis from the Hong Kong Diabetes Biobank

OBJECTIVE

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) comprise particles of different size, density and composition and their vasoprotective functions may differ. Diabetes modifies the composition and function of HDL. We assessed associations of HDL size-based subclasses with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality and their prognostic utility.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

HDL subclasses by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were determined in sera from 1991 fasted adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) consecutively recruited from March 2014 to February 2015 in Hong Kong. HDL was divided into small, medium, large and very large subclasses. Associations (per SD increment) with outcomes were evaluated using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. C-statistic, integrated discrimination index (IDI), and categorial and continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI) were used to assess predictive value.

RESULTS

Over median (IQR) 5.2 (5.0-5.4) years, 125 participants developed incident CVD and 90 participants died. Small HDL particles (HDL-P) were inversely associated with incident CVD [hazard ratio (HR) 0.65 (95% CI 0.52, 0.81)] and all-cause mortality [0.47 (0.38, 0.59)] (false discovery rate < 0.05). Very large HDL-P were positively associated with all-cause mortality [1.75 (1.19, 2.58)]. Small HDL-P improved prediction of mortality [C-statistic 0.034 (0.013, 0.055), IDI 0.052 (0.014, 0.103), categorical NRI 0.156 (0.006, 0.252), and continuous NRI 0.571 (0.246, 0.851)] and CVD [IDI 0.017 (0.003, 0.038) and continuous NRI 0.282 (0.088, 0.486)] over the RECODe model.

CONCLUSION

Small HDL-P were inversely associated with incident CVD and all-cause mortality and improved risk stratification for adverse outcomes in people with T2D. HDL-P may be used as markers for residual risk in people with T2D.

Gender-associated cardiometabolic risk profiles and health behaviors in patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional analysis of the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) program

Background

In Asia, diabetes-associated death due to cardiorenal diseases were 2-3 times higher in women than men which might be due to gender disparity in quality of care and health habits.

Methods

Adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) from 11 Asian countries/areas were assessed using the same protocol (2007-2015). We compared treatment target attainment (HbA_1c < 7%, blood pressure [BP] < 130/80 mmHg, risk-based LDL-cholesterol, lack of central obesity [waist circumference <90 cm in men or <80 cm in women), use of cardiorenal-protective drugs (renin-angiotensin system [RAS] inhibitors, statins), and self-reported health habits including self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) by gender. Analyses were stratified by countries/areas, age of natural menopause (<50 vs. ≥50 years), and comorbidities (atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease [ASCVD], heart failure, kidney impairment [eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m²]).

Findings

Among 106,376 patients (53.2% men; median (interquartile range) diabetes duration: 6.0 (2.0-12.0) years; mean ± SD HbA_1c 8.0 ± 1.9%; 27% insulin-treated), women were older and less likely to receive college education than men (28.9% vs. 48.8%). Women were less likely to smoke/drink alcohol and were physically less active than men. Women had lower BP (<130/80 mmHg: 29.4% vs. 25.7%), less general obesity (54.8% vs. 57.8%) but more central obesity than men (77.5% vs. 57.3%). Women were less likely to have ASCVD (12.8% vs. 17.0%) or heart failure (1.3% vs. 2.3%), but more likely to have kidney impairment (22.3% vs. 17.6%) and any-site cancer than men (2.5% vs. 1.6%). In most countries/areas, more men attained HbA_1c <7% and risk-based LDL-cholesterol level than women. After adjusting for potential confounders including countries and centres, men had 1.63 odds ratio (95% CI 1.51, 1.74) of attaining ≥3 treatment targets than women.

Interpretation

Asian women with T2D had worse quality of care than men especially in middle-income countries/areas, calling for targeted implementation programs to close these care gaps.

Sponsor

Asia Diabetes Foundation.

Funding

Nil.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diabetes services: planning for a global recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected certain groups, such as older people (ie, >65 years), minority ethnic populations, and people with specific chronic conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and some respiratory diseases. There is now evidence of not only direct but also indirect adverse effects of COVID-19 in people with diabetes. Recurrent lockdowns and public health measures throughout the pandemic have restricted access to routine diabetes care, limiting new diagnoses, and affecting self-management, routine follow-ups, and access to medications, as well as affecting lifestyle behaviours and emotional wellbeing globally. Pre-pandemic studies have shown that short-term delays in delivery of routine care, even by 12 months, are associated with adverse effects on risk factor control and worse microvascular, macrovascular, and mortality outcomes in people with diabetes. Disruptions within the short-to-medium term due to natural disasters also result in worse diabetes outcomes. However, the true magnitude of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on long-term outcomes and mortality in people with diabetes is still unclear. Disasters tend to exacerbate existing health disparities; as we recover ambulatory diabetes services in the aftermath of the pandemic, there is an opportunity to prioritise those with the greatest need, and to target resources and interventions aimed at improving outcomes and reducing inequality.

Team-based multicomponent care improved and sustained glycaemic control in obese people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a Diabetes Centre setting: A quality improvement program with quasi-experimental design

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of a team-based multi-component intervention care (MIC) program in obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and poor glycemic control.

METHODS

Patients with T2D and HbA_1c ≥ 8 % and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg/m² and/or waist circumference ≥ 80 cm in women and ≥90 cm in men were recruited. The intervention in Diabetes Centre included 1) nurse-led, group-based workshops; 2) review by endocrinologists; 3) telephone reminders by healthcare assistants and 4) peer support during visits. The usual care (UC) group received consultations at outpatient clinic without workshops or peer support. The MIC group received UC after 1-year of intervention. The primary outcome was change of HbA_1c from baseline at 1- and 3-year.

RESULTS

Of 207 eligible patients [age (mean ± standard deviation): 56.9 ± 8.8 years, 47.4 % men, disease duration: 13.5 ± 8.2 years, HbA_1c: 9.6 ± 1.3 %, BMI: 28.8 ± 4.3 kg/m², waist circumference: 101.5 ± 9.9 cm (men), 95.3 ± 9.8 cm (women)], 104 received MIC and 103 received UC. 95 % patients had repeat assessments at 1- and 3-year. After adjustment for confounders, MIC had greater HbA_1c reduction (β -0.51, 95 % confidence interval [CI] -1.00 to -0.01; P = 0.045) than UC at 1-year, with sustained improvement at 3-year (β -0.56, CI -1.10 to -0.02; P = 0.044).

CONCLUSION

Team-based MIC for 1 year improved glycemic control in obese T2D which was sustained at 3-year.

Ten-Year Effectiveness of the Multidisciplinary Risk Assessment and Management Programme-Diabetes Mellitus (RAMP-DM) on Macrovascular and Microvascular Complications and All-Cause Mortality: A Population-Based Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

The Risk Assessment and Management Programme-Diabetes Mellitus (RAMP-DM) is a protocol-driven, risk-stratified, and individualized management program offered by a multidisciplinary team in addition to usual care for primary care patients with diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of RAMP-DM for preventing complications and mortality over 10 years.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A population-based, prospective cohort study of adult patients with type 2 diabetes managed in the Hong Kong public primary health care system between 2009 and 2010 was conducted. RAMP-DM participants and usual care patients were matched using one-to-one propensity score matching and followed for 10 years. Risks of macrovascular and microvascular complications and all-cause mortality were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression.

RESULTS

A total of 36,746 patients (18,373 in each group) were included after propensity score matching, with a median follow-up of 9.5 years and 306,802 person-years. RAMP-DM participants had significantly lower risks of macrovascular (hazard ratio [HR] 0.52, 95% CI 0.50-0.54) and microvascular (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.64-0.72) complications and all-cause mortality (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.43-0.47) than patients who received usual care only. However, the effect of RAMP-DM on macrovascular and microvascular complications attenuated after the 9th and 8th year of follow-up, respectively. RAMP-DM participants also showed better control of hemoglobin A1c, blood pressure, triglycerides, and BMI and a slower decline in renal function.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant reductions in diabetes-related complications and all-cause mortality were observed among RAMP-DM participants over a 10-year follow-up, yet the effect of preventing complications attenuated after 8 years.

GCKR and GCK polymorphisms are associated with increased risk of end-stage kidney disease in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes: The Hong Kong Diabetes Register (1995-2019)

AIMS

Glucokinase (GCK) and glucokinase regulatory protein (GKRP) regulate glucose and lipid metabolism. We investigated the associations of GCKR and GCK polymorphisms with kidney outcomes.

METHODS

Analyses were performed in a prospective cohort who were enrolled in the Hong Kong Diabetes Register between 1995 and 2017. The associations of GCKR rs1260326 and GCK rs1799884 polymorphisms with incident end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), albuminuria and rapid eGFR decline were analysed by Cox regression or logistic regression with adjustment.

RESULTS

6072 patients (baseline mean age 57.4 years; median diabetes duration 6.0 years; 54.5 % female) were included, with a median follow-up of 15.5 years. The GCKR rs1260326 [HR (95 %CI) 1.23 (1.05-1.44) for CT; HR 1.23 (1.02-1.48) for TT] and GCK rs1799884 T alleles [HR 1.73 (1.24-2.40) for TT] were independently associated with increased risk of ESKD versus their respective CC genotypes. GCKR rs1260326 T allele was also associated with albuminuria [OR 1.18 (1.05-1.33) for CT; OR 1.34 (1.16-1.55) for TT] and rapid eGFR decline.

CONCLUSIONS

In Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes, T allele carriers of GCKR rs1260326 and GCK rs1799884 were at high risk for ESKD. These genetic markers may be used to identify high risk patients for early intensive management for renoprotection.

Attenuated Risk Association of End-Stage Kidney Disease with Metformin in Type 2 Diabetes with eGFR Categories 1-4

Type 2 diabetes (T2D)-associated end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is a global burden, while the renoprotective effects of metformin remain controversial. In a population-based cohort (2002-2018) including 96,643 patients with T2D observed for 0.7 million person-years, we estimated the risk association of metformin and its dose-relationship with ESKD in a propensity-score overlap-weighting (PS-OW) cohort by eGFR categories. Amongst 96,643, 83,881 (86.8%) had eGFR-G1/G2 (≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2), 8762 (9.1%) had eGFR-G3a (≥45-60 mL/min/1.73 m2), 3051 (3.2%) had eGFR-G3b (≥30-45 mL/min/1.73 m2), and 949 (1.0%) had eGFR-G4 (≥15-30 mL/min/1.73 m2). The respective proportions of metformin users in these eGFR categories were 95.1%, 81.9%, 53.8%, and 20.8%. In the PS-OW cohort with 88,771 new-metformin and 7872 other oral glucose-lowering-drugs (OGLDs) users, the respective incidence rates of ESKD were 2.8 versus 22.4/1000 person-years. Metformin use associated with reduced risk of ESKD (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.43 [95% CI: 0.35-0.52] in eGFR-G1/G2, 0.64 [0.52-0.79] in eGFR-G3a, 0.67 [0.56-0.80] in eGFR-G3b, and 0.63 [0.48-0.83] in eGFR-G4). Metformin use was associated with reduced or neutral risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (7.2 versus 16.0/1000 person-years) and all-cause mortality (14.6 versus 65.1/1000 person-years). Time-weighted mean daily metformin dose was 1000 mg in eGFR-G1/G2, 850 mg in eGFR-G3a, 650 mg in eGFR-G3b, and 500 mg in eGFR-G4. In a subcohort of 14,766 patients observed for 0.1 million person-years, the respective incidence rates of lactic acidosis and HR in metformin users and non-users were 42.5 versus 226.4 events/100,000 person-years (p = 0.03) for eGFR-G1/G2 (HR = 0.57, 0.25-1.30) and 54.5 versus 300.6 events/100,000 person-years (p = 0.01) for eGFR-G3/G4 (HR = 0.49, 0.19-1.30). These real-world data underscore the major benefits and low risk of lactic acidosis with metformin use down to an eGFR of 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 and possibly even 15 mL/min/1.73 m2, while reinforcing the importance of dose adjustment and frequent monitoring of eGFR.

Effects of RAS inhibitors on all-site cancers and mortality in the Hong Kong diabetes surveillance database (2002-2019)

Background

Cancer is replacing cardiovascular-disease as a leading cause of death in type 2 diabetes (T2D). The association of RAS-inhibitors (RASi) and cancer, including differences between angiotensin-converting-enzyme-inhibitor (ACEi) and angiotensin-receptor-blocker (ARBs) as well as their associations independent of blood pressure lowering, remains inconclusive in T2D.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study with new-user design in 253,491 patients in the Hong-Kong-Diabetes-Surveillance-Database (HKDSD) in 2002-2019. We evaluated the associations of time-varying RASi use (ACEi and ARBs) with all-site cancer, diabetes-related cancers, and cancer-specific mortality including comparison with new-users of calcium-channel-blockers (CCBs) as an active-comparator group.

Findings

Of 253,491, 133,730 (52.8%) were new-RASi and 119,761 (47.2%) were non-RASi users with a median follow-up period of 6.3 (interquartile ragne: 3.4-9.2) years (1,678,719 patient-years). After propensity-score weighting and adjustment for time-varying covariables, RASi use was associated with lower risk of all-site cancer (HR=0.76, 95%CI: 0.74-0.79), diabetes-related cancer (HR=0.79, 95%CI: 0.75-0.84), cancer-specific mortality (HR=0.50, 95%CI: 0.47-0.53), and diabetes-related cancer mortality (HR=0.49, 95%CI: 0.45-0.54) versus non-RASi. Amongst RASi users, ARBs use was associated with lower risk of cancer-specific mortality versus ACEi (HR=0.77, 95%CI: 0.66-0.91). Use of RASi was associated with an estimated-prevention of 2.6 (95%CI: 2.3-3.0) all-site cancer per-1000-person-years and 2.2 (95%CI: 2.0-2.5) cancer-related mortality per-1000-person-years. Lower risk of cancer-specific mortality was similarly observed in new-RASi compared with new-CCBs users.

Interpretation

RASi use was independently associated with lower cancer risk in T2D with stronger associations in users of ARBs than ACEi. The benefits of RASi in patients with diabetes might go beyond cardiovascular-renal protection if confirmed by other real-world studies and trials.

Funding

Dr. Aimin Yang was supported by a CUHK Impact-Research-Fellowship Scheme.

Nonalbuminuric Diabetic Kidney Disease and Risk of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular and Kidney Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes: Findings From the Hong Kong Diabetes Biobank

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE

Nonalbuminuric diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has become the prevailing DKD phenotype. We compared the risks of adverse outcomes among patients with this phenotype compared with other DKD phenotypes.

STUDY DESIGN

Multicenter prospective cohort study.

SETTINGS & PARTICIPANTS

19,025 Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes enrolled in the Hong Kong Diabetes Biobank.

EXPOSURES

DKD phenotypes defined by baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria: no DKD (no decreased eGFR or albuminuria), albuminuria without decreased eGFR, decreased eGFR without albuminuria, and albuminuria with decreased eGFR.

OUTCOMES

All-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, hospitalization for heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression (incident kidney failure or sustained eGFR reduction ≥40%).

ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Multivariable Cox proportional or cause-specific hazards models to estimate the relative risks of death, CVD, hospitalization for HF, and CKD progression. Multiple imputation was used for missing covariates.

RESULTS

Mean participant age was 61.1 years, 58.3% were male, and mean diabetes duration was 11.1 years. During 54,260 person-years of follow-up, 438 deaths, 1,076 CVD events, 298 hospitalizations for HF, and 1,161 episodes of CKD progression occurred. Compared with the no-DKD subgroup, the subgroup with decreased eGFR without albuminuria had higher risks of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.59 [95% CI, 1.04-2.44]), hospitalization for HF (HR, 3.08 [95% CI, 1.82-5.21]), and CKD progression (HR, 2.37 [95% CI, 1.63-3.43]), but the risk of CVD was not significantly greater (HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 0.88-1.48]). The risks of death, CVD, hospitalization for HF, and CKD progression were higher in the setting of albuminuria with or without decreased eGFR. A sensitivity analysis that excluded participants with baseline eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m² yielded similar findings.

LIMITATIONS

Potential misclassification because of drug use.

CONCLUSIONS

Nonalbuminuric DKD was associated with higher risks of hospitalization for HF and of CKD progression than no DKD, regardless of baseline eGFR.

Combined associations of family history and self-management with age at diagnosis and cardiometabolic risk in 86,931 patients with type 2 diabetes: Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) Register from 11 countries

BACKGROUND

Family history (FamH) of type 2 diabetes might indicate shared genotypes, environments, and/or behaviors. We hypothesize that FamH interacts with unhealthy behaviors to increase the risk of early onset of diabetes and poor cardiometabolic control.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional analysis of the prospective Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation Register including patients from 427 clinics in 11 Asian countries/regions in 2007-2021, we defined positive FamH as affected parents/siblings and self-management as (1) healthy lifestyles (balanced diet, non-use of alcohol and tobacco, regular physical activity) and (2) regular self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG).

RESULTS

Among 86,931 patients with type 2 diabetes (mean±SD age: 56.6±11.6 years; age at diagnosis of diabetes: 49.8±10.5 years), the prevalence of FamH ranged from 39.1% to 85.3% in different areas with FamH affecting mother being most common (32.5%). The FamH group (n=51,705; 59.5%) was diagnosed 4.6 years earlier than the non-FamH group [mean (95% CI): 47.9 (47.8-48.0) vs. 52.5 (52.4-52.6), logrank p<0.001]. In the FamH group, patients with both parents affected had the earliest age at diagnosis [44.6 (44.5-44.8)], followed by affected single parent [47.7 (47.6-47.8)] and affected siblings only [51.5 (51.3-51.7), logrank p<0.001]. The FamH plus ≥2 healthy lifestyle group had similar age at diagnosis [48.2 (48.1-48.3)] as the non-FamH plus <2 healthy lifestyle group [50.1 (49.8-50.5)]. The FamH group with affected parents had higher odds of hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia than the FamH group with affected siblings, with the lowest odds in the non-FamH group. Self-management (healthy lifestyles plus SMBG) was associated with higher odds of attaining HbA_1c<7%, blood pressure<130/80mmHg, and LDL-C<2.6 mmol/L especially in the FamH group (FamH×self-management, p_interaction=0.050-0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In Asia, FamH was common and associated with young age of diagnosis which might be delayed by healthy lifestyle while self management  was associated with better control of  cardiometabolic risk factors especially in those with FamH.

Associations of the HOMA2-%B and HOMA2-IR with progression to diabetes and glycaemic deterioration in young and middle-aged Chinese

AIMS

Insulin deficiency (ID) and resistance (IR) contribute to progression from normal glucose tolerance to diabetes to insulin requirement although their relative contributions in young-onset diabetes is unknown.

METHODS

We examined the associations of HOMA2 using fasting plasma glucose and C-peptide in Chinese aged 20-50 years with (1) progression to type 2 diabetes (T2D) in participants without diabetes in a community-based cohort (1998-2013) and (2) glycaemic deterioration in patients with T2D in a clinic-based cohort (1995-2014). We defined ID as HOMA2-%B below median and insulin IR as HOMA2-IR above median.

RESULTS

During 10-year follow-up, 62 (17.9%) of 347 community-dwelling participants progressed to T2D. After 8.6 years, 291 (48.1%) of 609 patients with T2D had glycaemic deterioration. At baseline, progressors for T2D had higher HOMA2-IR, while in patients with T2D, progressors for glycaemic deterioration had higher HOMA2-IR and lower HOMA2-%B than non-progressors. The non-ID/IR group and the ID/IR group had an adjusted odds ratios of 2.47 (95% CI: 1.28, 4.94) and 5.36 (2.26, 12.79), respectively, for incident T2D versus the ID/non-IR group. In patients with T2D, 50% of the ID/IR group required insulin at 6.7 years versus around 11 years in the non-ID/IR or ID/non-IR, and more than 15 years in the non-ID/non-IR group. Compared with the latter group, the adjusted hazard ratios were 2.74 (1.80, 4.16) in the ID/non-IR, 2.73 (1.78, 4.19) in the non-ID/IR and 4.46 (2.87, 6.91) in the ID/IR group (p-interaction = 0.049).

CONCLUSIONS

In young Chinese adults, IR and ID contributed to progression to T2D and glycaemic deterioration.

A randomized clinical trial of genetic testing and personalized risk counselling in patients with type 2 diabetes receiving integrated care -The genetic testing and patient empowerment (GEM) trial

AIMS

We evaluated the effect of personalized risk counseling incorporating clinical and genetic risk factors on patient empowerment and risk factor control in diabetes.

METHODS

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with suboptimal glycaemic control (HbA1c ≥ 7.5%) were randomized to a genetic counselling (GC) or control group. All patients underwent genetic testing for alleles at three loci associated with diabetic complications. The GC group received additional explanation of the joint associations of genetic and modifiable risk factors on risk of complications. All patients were reassessed at 12 months including validated questionnaires for patient reported outcomes. The primary outcome was proportion of patients reaching ≥ 3 of 5 predefined treatment targets (HbA1c < 7%, BP < 130/80 mmHg, LDL-C < 2.6 mmol/L, Triglyceride < 2.0 mmol/L, use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors). Secondary outcomes included new-onset chronic kidney disease or microalbuminuria and patient reported outcome measures.

RESULTS

A total of 435 patients were randomized and 420 patients were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months, the proportion of patients who attained ≥ 3 targets increased from 41.6% to 52.3% in the GC group (p = 0.007) versus 49.5% to 62.6% in the control group (p = 0.003), without between-group difference. Both groups had similar reduction in HbA1c, LDL-C and increased use of medications. In per protocol analysis, the GC group had higher diabetes empowerment, with reduced diabetes distress. In the GC group, the greatest improvement in positive attitude and self-care activities was observed in the intermediate to high genetic risk score (GRS) groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with T2D receiving integrated care, additional counselling on genetic risk of complications did not further improve risk factor control, although the improvement in self-efficacy warrants long-term evaluation.