Effectiveness of monthly and bimonthly follow-up of patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes: a propensity score matched cohort study

Optimizing physician-encounter frequency for type 2 diabetes patients in primary care based on cardiovascular risk assessment: A target trial emulation study

AIM

To investigate whether the physician-encounter interval for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be optimized from 2-3 to 4-6 months among those with a calculated 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk score of less than 20% without compromising their long-term outcomes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using territory-wide public electronic medical records in Hong Kong, we emulated a target trial to compare the effectiveness of the physician-encounter intervals of 4-6 versus 2-3 months for T2D patients without prior CVDs and with a predicted risk for CVDs of less than 20% (i.e. those patients not in the high-risk category). Propensity score matching was used to emulate the randomization of participants at baseline, where 42 154 matched individuals were included for analysis. The marginal structural model was applied to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for CVD incidence and all-cause mortality, the incidence rate ratio of secondary and tertiary care utilization, as well as the between-group differences in HbA1c, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

RESULTS

During a follow-up period of up to 12 (average: 5.1) years, there was no significantly increased risk of CVD in patients with physician-encounter intervals of 4-6 months compared with those patients with physician-encounter intervals of 2-3 months (HR [95% confidence interval {CI}]: 1.01 [0.90, 1.14]; standardized 10-year risk difference [95% CI]: -0.1% [-0.7%, 0.6%]), nor for all-cause mortality (HR: 1.00 [0.84, 1.20]; standardized 10-year risk difference: -0.1% [-0.5%, 0.3%]). Additionally, there was no observable difference in the utilization of secondary and tertiary care or key clinical parameters between these two follow-up frequencies.

CONCLUSIONS

For T2D patients with a calculated 10-year CVD risk of less than 20%, the interval of regular physician encounters can be optimized from 2-3 to 4-6 months without compromising patients' long-term outcomes and saving substantial service resources in primary care.

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Patients' Self-perception of Periodontal Diseases

OBJECTIVES

 The study aimed to evaluate type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients' self-perceived periodontal health status and to identify the association between periodontal disease (PD) and DM.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

 This cross-sectional study included 113 T1DM children between 3 and 18 years old from the Universiti Teknologi MARA and the University of Malaya. Periodontal health parameters, including plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth, simplified basic periodontal examination, and clinical attachment loss, were recorded. Self-perceived periodontal health status was assessed with questionnaires.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

 Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the sensitivity of the questionnaire and the relationship between T1DM and periodontal parameters.

RESULTS

 The median age was 11.4 years. Half of them (50.4%) were females. A total of 83.5% rated their oral condition as good, whereas 27.5% reported a history of gingival bleeding. Clinical examination revealed that 48.7% had healthy gingiva, whereas 47.8% had gingivitis. The question "Do you have bleeding when brushing, flossing, or eating food?" showed good accuracy in the evaluation of PD (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

 The questionnaire has a high potential to be used by medical professionals in identifying T1DM patients at risk of PD to guide nondental health care providers in making appropriate referrals to dental services.

Optimizing the frequency of physician encounters in follow - up care for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Decisions on the frequency of physician encounters for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have significant impacts on both patients' health outcomes and burden on health systems, whereas definitive intervals for physician encounters are still lacking in most clinical guidelines. This study systematically reviewed the existing evidence evaluating different frequencies of physician encounters among T2DM patients.

METHODS

Systematic search of studies evaluating different visit frequencies for follow - up care in T2DM patients was performed in MEDLINE Ovid, Embase Ovid, and Cochrane library from database inception to 25 March 2022. Studies on the follow - up encounters driven by non - physicians and those on the episodic visits in the acute care settings were excluded in the screening. Citation searching was conducted via Google Scholar on the identified papers after screening. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane RoB2 tool for randomized controlled trials and Newcastle - Ottawa Scale for cohort studies. Findings were summarized narratively.

RESULTS

Among 6363 records from the database search and 231 references from the citation search, 12 articles were eligible for in - depth review. The results showed that for patients who had not achieved cardiometabolic control, intensifying encounter frequency could enhance medication adherence, shorten the time to achieve the treatment target, and improve the patients' quality of life. However, for the patients who had already achieved the treatment targets, less frequent encounters were equivalent to intensive encounters in maintaining their cardiometabolic control, and could save considerable healthcare costs without substantially lowering the quality of care and patients' satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Existing evidence suggested that the optimal frequency of physician encounters for patients with T2DM should be individualized, which can be stratified by patients' risk levels based on the cardiometabolic control to guide the differential scheduling of physician encounters in the follow - up. More research is needed to determine how to optimize the frequency of physician encounters for this large and heterogeneous population.

The impact of pharmacist interventions, follow-up frequency and default on glycemic control in Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic program: a multicenter study in Malaysia

BACKGROUND

Pharmacist's involvement in optimizing medication adherence among diabetic patients has been implemented for over a decade. Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic (DMTAC) was set up to educate diabetic patients, monitor treatment outcomes, and manage drug-related problems. While evidence shows that pharmacist-led DMTAC was effective in reducing HbA1c, there was limited data regarding the impact of different intervention types and default to follow-up on glycemic control.

AIM

To assess the impact DMTAC on glycemic control and the difference in glycemic control between hospital and health clinic settings as well as defaulter and non-defaulter. In addition, the impact of pharmacist's interventions, DMTAC follow-up frequencies, and duration of diabetes on glycemic control were also determined.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted among diabetes patients under DMTAC care between January 2019 and June 2020 in five hospitals and 23 primary health clinics. Patients' demographics data, treatment regimens, frequencies of DMTAC visits, defaulter (absent from DMTAC visits) and types of pharmacists' intervention were retrieved from patients' medical records and electronic database. HbA1c was collected at baseline, 4-6 months (post-1), and 8-12 months (post-2).

RESULTS

We included 956 patients, of which 60% were females with a median age of 58.0 (IQR: 5.0) years. Overall, the HbA1c reduced significantly from baseline (median: 10.2, IQR: 3.0) to post-1 (median: 8.8, IQR: 2.7) and post-2 (median: 8.3, IQR: 2.6%) (p < 0.001). There were 4317 pharmacists' interventions performed, with the majority being dosage adjustment (n = 2407, 55.8%), followed by lab investigations (849, 19.7%), drugs addition (653, 15.1%), drugs discontinuation (408, 9.5%). Patients treated in hospitals received significantly more interventions than those treated in primary health clinics (p < 0.001). We observed significantly less reduction in HbA1c in DMTAC follow-up defaulters than non-defaulters after 1 year (- 1.02% vs. - 2.14%, p = 0.001). Frequencies of DMTAC visits (b: 0.19, CI: 0.079-0.302, p = 0.001), number of dosage adjustments (b: 0.83, CI: 0.015-0.151, p = 0.018) and number of additional drugs recommended (b: 0.37, CI: 0.049-0.691, p = 0.024) had positive impact on glycemic control whereas duration of diabetes (b: - 0.0302, CI: - 0.0507, - 0.007, p = 0.011) had negative impact.

CONCLUSION

Glycemic control improved significantly and sustained up to one year among patients in pharmacists-led DMTAC. However, DMTAC defaulters experienced poorer glycemic control. Considering more frequent visits and targeted interventions by pharmacists at DMTAC resulted in improved HbA1c control, these strategies should be taken into account for future program planning.

Poor glycemic control and associated factors among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study

Glycemic control is of paramount importance in care and management for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Poor glycemic control is a major health problem that greatly contributes to the development of diabetes related complications. This study aims to assess the prevalence of poor glycemic control and associated factors among outpatients with T2DM attending diabetes clinic at Amana Regional Referral Hospital in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania from December 2021 to September 2022. A face to face interviewer semi-structured questionnaire was administered during data collection. Binary logistic regression under multivariable analysis was used to determine the independent predictors of poor glycemic control. A total of 248 patients with T2DM were included in the analysis with mean age of 59.8 ± 12.1 years. The mean fasting blood glucose was 166.9 ± 60.8 mg/dL. The prevalence of poor glycemic control was 66.1% (fasting blood glucose > 130 mg/dL or < 70 mg/dL). Failure to adhere to regular follow-up (AOR = 7.53, 95% CI = 2.34-19.73, p < 0.001) and alcoholism (AOR = 4.71, 95% CI = 1.08-20.59, p = 0.040) were the independent predictors of poor glycemic control. The prevalence of poor glycemic control observed in this study was significantly high. Emphasis should be placed on ensuring that patients have regular follow-up for their diabetes clinics and they should also continue modifying some of lifestyle behaviors including refraining from alcoholism, this can help them to have good glycemic control.

Risk factors for impaired quality of life in diabetic patients in Tunisia

INTRODUCTION

Quality of life preservation is crucial in the management of chronic diseases, in particular diabetes.

AIM

To identify risk factors for the impaired quality of life of Tunisian diabetic patients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study that collected type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, selected by convenience sampling was conducted. Diabetic patients received a self-administered questionnaire in Arabic containing general and clinical data and a validated Arabic version of the "Diabetes Health Profile -18".

RESULTS

Three hundred and thirty-three type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, whose age was ≥ 40 years in 78.1% of cases with a sex ratio of 0.94, were collected. The answers to the questionnaire highlighted a globally impaired quality of life for the diabetic patients with an average of 30.21 (7.06). Binary regression analysis presented globally significant models reflecting impairment risk factors for diabetic patients' quality of life. Female gender (AOR= 1.7; p= 0.036), comorbidities associated with diabetes (AOR = 1.23; p<10-3), diabetes complications (AOR= 1.45; p=0.041) and irregular medical follow-up (AOR=4.19; p<10-3) were risk factors for impaired diabetic patients' quality of life.

CONCLUSION

This study underlines the major role of a holistic diabetic patient care for better identification and management of risk factors of impaired quality of life.

High-frequency HbA1c testing among older patients with diabetes in Japan: a longitudinal analysis using medical claims data

Aims

We aimed to determine the rate of high-frequency HbA1c testing among older Japanese patients (≥ 75 years) with type 2 diabetes who did not have diabetic complications and were not using insulin, and to explore its influencing factors and association with the number of hospital admissions.

Methods

A retrospective, longitudinal observation study design based on medical claims data between 2015 and 2020 was adopted. We tracked patients for 3 years to describe the annual rate and determine factors associated with high-frequency HbA1c testing using a hierarchical logistical model. We employed a zero-inflated Poisson model to examine the association between frequency of HbA1c testing and the number of hospitalizations.

Results

Among 6594 patients included (mean age 80.4 years), the rates of high-frequency HbA1c testing in the first, second, and third year were 10.2%, 4.8%, and 4.7%, respectively. Follow-up year [odds ratio (OR) = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.49-0.59];insulin use (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.26-2.11); multi facility for HbA1c testing (OR = 5.51, 95% CI = 4.66-6.51); more than 48 outpatient days per year (OR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.81-2.51); hospitalizations (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.55-0.79); two or more classes of antidiabetic agents at baseline (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.11-1.56); and dementia at baseline (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.51-0.97) were significantly associated with high-frequency HbA1c testing. No significant association between frequent HbA1c testing and the number of all-cause hospitalizations was found.

Conclusions

We revealed a high rate of HbA1c testing among older Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes in ambulatory care and indicated that high-frequency HbA1c testing was more likely to result from the decentralized healthcare system and its structure.