Erratum. Overall Quality of Care Predicts the Variability of Key Risk Factors for Complications in Type 2 Diabetes: An Observational, Longitudinal Retrospective Study. Diabetes Care 2019;42:514-519

Temporal trends in the starting of insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes in Italy: data from the AMD Annals initiative

AIMS

Opportunities and needs for starting insulin therapy in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) have changed overtime. We evaluated clinical characteristics of T2D subjects undergoing the first insulin prescription during a 15-year-observation period in the large cohort of the AMD Annals Initiative in Italy.

METHODS

Data on clinical and laboratory variables, complications and concomitant therapies and the effects on glucose control after 12 months were evaluated in T2D patients starting basal insulin as add-on to oral/non-insulin injectable agents, and in those starting fast-acting in add-on to basal insulin therapy in three 5-year periods (2005-2019).

RESULTS

We evaluated data from 171.688 T2D subjects who intensified therapy with basal insulin and 137.225 T2D patients who started fast-acting insulin. Overall, intensification with insulin occurred progressively earlier over time in subjects with shorter disease duration. Moreover, the percentage of subjects with HbA1c levels > 8% at the time of basal insulin initiation progressively decreased. The same trend was observed for fast-acting formulations. Clinical characteristics of subjects starting insulin did not change in the three study-periods, although all major risk factors improved overtime. After 12 months from the starting of basal or fast-acting insulin therapy, mean HbA1c levels decreased in all the three investigated time-periods, although mean HbA1c levels remained above the recommended target.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large cohort of T2D subjects, a progressively earlier start of insulin treatment was observed during a long observation period, suggesting a more proactive prescriptive approach. However, after 12 months from insulin prescription, in many patients, HbA1c levels were still out-of-target.

Temporal trends in intensification of glucose-lowering therapy for type 2 diabetes in Italy: Data from the AMD Annals initiative and their impact on clinical inertia

AIMS

Clinical inertia negatively affects type 2 diabetes (T2DM) management. We evaluated changes in prescription patterns of hypoglycemic drugs during a 15 year-observation period in a large population of T2DM outpatients and their effect on metabolic control.

METHODS

Data on all T2DM patients attending 258 Italian diabetes clinics between 2005 and 2019 were collected and analyzed for three 5-years periods. The addition of a second drug to metformin and the addition of a third agent to dual therapy were evaluated.

RESULTS

During the observation period, 437.179 patients added a second drug to metformin. The intensification occurred earlier over time: patients had a shorter duration of disease and a better cardiovascular risk profile in the last five years, compared to previous periods. During the same period, 208.767 patients added a third agent to dual therapy. Duration of diabetes at the time of intensification decreased, and cardiovascular risk profile improved over time. Also HbA1c levels at the time of intensification decreased over time.

CONCLUSIONS

in this large cohort of T2MD subjects during a long observation period an earlier treatment intensification and a better metabolic control were observed, suggesting an improved approach to clinical inertia.