Switching From Pre-mixed Insulin to Regimens with Insulin Glargine in Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective, Observational Study of Data From Adriatic Countries

Predictors of HbA1c reduction and hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus individuals switching from premixed to basal insulin: an exploratory analysis of optimization study

OBJECTIVE

To identify population with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who are more likely to benefit from switching to basal insulin (BI) treatment from premixed insulin.

METHODS

This secondary analysis included data from a previously published study (Optimization: NCT00693771) which was a single-arm, multicenter, 16 weeks, phase IV study. The analysis included participants with T2DM inadequately controlled with premixed insulin plus oral hypoglycemic drugs (OADs) who switched to BI plus OADs.

RESULTS

Among the 297 participants included for analysis, subjects with fasting C-peptide (FCP)>1.2 nmol/L group showed a trend for greater reduction in HbA1c [Least square mean difference (LSMD), -0.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), -0.98 to -0.21; p = 0.003] and FPG (LSMD, -1.36; 95% CI, -2.20 to -0.53; p = 0.002) than those with FCP ≤ 0.4 nmol/L. The baseline insulin glargine 100 U/mL (Gla-100) dose increased significantly in 0.4 to ≤ 1.2 nmol/L group with LS mean difference (SE) of 0.16 (0.01) U/kg/day (p = 0.008) compared to FCP ≤ 0.4 nmol/L group. When combined with Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) score, participants with a C-peptide level of 0.4 to ≤1.2 nmol/L (OR, 4.05; 95% CI, 1.08 to 15.22; p = 0.039) had significantly higher odds of achieving HbA1c <7%. The number of participants experiencing documented symptomatic hypoglycaemia (≤3.9 mmol/L) was higher in the FCP ≤0.4 nmol/L group compared to those in 0.4 to ≤1.2 nmol/L FCP group at any time of the day (31.6 vs. 17.1%) and during night (00:00 ∼ 05:59) (17.1 vs. 7.5%).

CONCLUSION

The findings from this study proposed that FCP is an important biomarker to identify T2DM participants who experience improved glucose control without compromising on hypoglycemia levels during switch from premixed insulin to BI. Participants especially with FCP levels >1.2 nmol/L may respond better in terms of HbA1c reduction without increased hypoglycemia risk compared to those with lower FCP values.

Twenty Years of Insulin Gla-100: A Systematic Evaluation of Its Efficacy and Safety in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

INTRODUCTION

This systematic review aims to present the current evidence base with respect to the initiation and intensification of insulin therapy with glargine 100 U/mL (Gla-100) compared to other insulins in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS

A systematic literature search of PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of controlled clinical trials databases was performed to identify studies published up to September 30, 2020 that compared the effects of Gla-100 to that of other insulin regimens in people with T2DM. Relevant information pertaining to the predefined outcomes of interest was extracted. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) change and response rates along with overall hypoglycemia incidence were the primary efficacy and safety outcomes of interest.

RESULTS

Seventy-nine studies (63 interventional and 16 non-interventional) in which Gla-100 was either initiated in previously insulin-naïve patients (n = 57) or used in an intensified regimen (n = 22) were identified and evaluated. In insulin-naïve patients, most studies demonstrated that Gla-100 was significantly better compared with premixed insulins and similar compared with neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin, second-generation basal insulins, co-formulations, and other first-generation basal insulins in terms of the primary efficacy parameters. Overall hypoglycemia risk with Gla-100 was significantly lower compared with NPH, premixed, coformulation, and other first-generation basal insulins and significantly higher compared with second-generation basal insulins. In studies with intensified regimens, efficacy outcomes with Gla-100 were significantly better compared with insulin detemir (IDet); similar compared with NPH, second-generation basal insulins, co-formulations; and with premixed insulins. In these studies, overall hypoglycemia risk with Gla-100 was significantly lower compared with IDet and comparable to NPH, premixed insulins, co-formulations, and second-generation basal insulins. In addition, most intensification studies also revealed a significantly lower risk of nocturnal hypoglycemia with Gla-100-based regimens versus NPH and premixed insulins and a significantly greater risk compared to second-generation basal insulins.

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence presented in this review suggests that Gla-100 is an effective option for both insulin initiation and intensification strategies used in the management of T2DM.

Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Insulin Glargine 300 U/mL in Patients with T2D Uncontrolled on NPH or Premixed Insulins as Part of Routine Clinical Practice in Bulgaria: ToUPGRADE Study

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the real-life effectiveness and safety of insulin glargine 300 U/mL (Gla-300) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) previously uncontrolled on NPH ± prandial insulin or premixed insulins in routine clinical practice in Bulgaria.

METHODS

This was a 24-week prospective, observational study performed in 40 inpatient and outpatient sites across the country.

RESULTS

A total of 286 patients were included in the study. The mean age (± SD) was 61.2 ± 10.0 years with duration of diabetes of 11.64 ± 7.5 years and body mass index (BMI) of 32.1 ± 5.7 kg/m². HbA1c before Gla-300 initiation was 9.8 ± 1.0%, and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was 13.1 ± 3.4 mmol/L. HbA1c and FPG change from baseline to week 24 was - 1.86% (p < 0.001) and - 4.8 mmol/L (p < 0.001), respectively. The proportion of patients reaching their individualized HbA1c at week 24 was 39.1% (95% CI 33.3-45.1%), while the proportion of patients reaching their individualized HbA1c target without confirmed and/or severe hypoglycaemia was 34.8% (95% CI 29.2-40.7%). At study end, 19.0% (95% CI 14.6-24.1%) achieved HbA1c < 7%. Body weight decreased from 88.3 to 87.0 kg from baseline to week 24 with mean change of - 1.3 kg (p < 0.001). The incidence and event rates of anytime confirmed (≤ 3.9 mmol/L) and/or severe hypoglycaemia were low: 7.7% and 0.42 events per patient-year, respectively. The overall Insulin Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ITSQ) score increased from 53.2 to 78.2 from baseline to week 24 and the difference of 25.1 ± 21.5 points was significant (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In real-life settings, Gla-300 significantly improved glycaemic control and insulin treatment satisfaction in people with T2D who were inadequately controlled with NPH ± prandial insulin or premixed insulin analogues. Improvement of glycaemic control was associated with a very low risk of hypoglycaemia and with significant weight loss irrespective of the previous insulin regimen.

Q-Finder: An Algorithm for Credible Subgroup Discovery in Clinical Data Analysis - An Application to the International Diabetes Management Practice Study

Addressing the heterogeneity of both the outcome of a disease and the treatment response to an intervention is a mandatory pathway for regulatory approval of medicines. In randomized clinical trials (RCTs), confirmatory subgroup analyses focus on the assessment of drugs in predefined subgroups, while exploratory ones allow a posteriori the identification of subsets of patients who respond differently. Within the latter area, subgroup discovery (SD) data mining approach is widely used-particularly in precision medicine-to evaluate treatment effect across different groups of patients from various data sources (be it from clinical trials or real-world data). However, both the limited consideration by standard SD algorithms of recommended criteria to define credible subgroups and the lack of statistical power of the findings after correcting for multiple testing hinder the generation of hypothesis and their acceptance by healthcare authorities and practitioners. In this paper, we present the Q-Finder algorithm that aims to generate statistically credible subgroups to answer clinical questions, such as finding drivers of natural disease progression or treatment response. It combines an exhaustive search with a cascade of filters based on metrics assessing key credibility criteria, including relative risk reduction assessment, adjustment on confounding factors, individual feature's contribution to the subgroup's effect, interaction tests for assessing between-subgroup treatment effect interactions and tests adjustment (multiple testing). This allows Q-Finder to directly target and assess subgroups on recommended credibility criteria. The top-k credible subgroups are then selected, while accounting for subgroups' diversity and, possibly, clinical relevance. Those subgroups are tested on independent data to assess their consistency across databases, while preserving statistical power by limiting the number of tests. To illustrate this algorithm, we applied it on the database of the International Diabetes Management Practice Study (IDMPS) to better understand the drivers of improved glycemic control and rate of episodes of hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetics patients. We compared Q-Finder with state-of-the-art approaches from both Subgroup Identification and Knowledge Discovery in Databases literature. The results demonstrate its ability to identify and support a short list of highly credible and diverse data-driven subgroups for both prognostic and predictive tasks.

A pragmatic study of mid-mixture insulin and basal insulin treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled with oral antihyperglycaemic medications: A lesson from real-world experience

BACKGROUND

Chinese guidelines for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) recommend basal or premixed insulins as insulin starters after failed oral antihyperglycaemic medication (OAM). This pragmatic study compared effectiveness and safety of add-on basal insulin analog (BI) and mid-mixture insulin analog (MMI; 50:50 premixed insulin) as starter insulin regimens in Chinese patients with T2D in a real-world setting.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a multicentre, open-label, randomized, parallel, pragmatic trial. Patients receiving OAMs were randomized 1:1 to BI (n = 410) or MMI (n = 404) for 24 weeks. Insulin titration and OAM adjustment were determined by investigators following usual standard-of-care. The primary outcome was change in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline.

RESULTS

Least-squares mean changes in HbA1c from baseline to week 24 were -2.00% and -2.15% for BI and MMI groups, respectively (P = .13). The MMI group demonstrated a greater reduction in concomitant OAM therapies used than BI group (53.8% vs. 35.3%, respectively; P < .001). Very limited daily insulin dose increments were observed from baseline to week 24 in both BI and MMI groups (2.5 U/day and 1.8 U/day, respectively). Although both insulin analogs were well-tolerated without severe hypoglycaemia, small weight gains were seen with both treatments. Higher total hypoglycaemia rates were noticed with the MMI group, while nocturnal hypoglycaemia events were comparable.

CONCLUSIONS

In real-world settings, BI and MMI provided similar improvement in glucose control without conceding hypoglycaemia. The BI group received a greater number of OAMs in real-world settings. Limited insulin dose titration was observed, while more adjustments occurred with OAM usage.