Glycaemic control after treatment intensification in patients with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on two or more non‐insulin antidiabetic drugs in a real‐world setting

AIM: To assess glycaemic control after treatment intensification in patients with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on ≥2 non-insulin antidiabetic drugs (NIADS). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study, using electronic health records from the SIDIAP database (2010-2014), was conducted. Intensification was defined as the prescription of any new antidiabetic drug in patients treated with ≥2 NIADS and HbA1c >7%. The primary outcome was the absolute change in HbA1c 6-12 months after any intensification. Secondary analyses included the percentage of patients reaching HbA1c 1% after the first intensification. RESULTS: There were 21 241 intensifications in 15 205 patients with a mean (SD) HbA1c of 9.02% (±1.35). Insulin and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) were the most frequently added therapies. The mean baseline-adjusted HbA1c reduction was 0.78% (95% CI, -0.80 to -0.76), varying from -0.69% with DPP4i to -0.85% with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists while the addition of insulin was associated with a reduction >1%. After the first intensification, 48.9% of patients achieved HbA1c 1%. High previous HbA1c was positively associated with the reduction of HbA1c >1% odds ratio (OR) 2.13 (95% CI: 2.05-2.21), but inversely associated with the attainment of HbA1c <7% OR 0.64 (0.61-0.67) or < 8% OR 0.63 (0.60-0.65). Older age, male gender, higher Charlson index, and short diabetes duration were associated with achievement of HbA1c <7%. CONCLUSIONS: Despite intensification, most patients failed the glycaemic goal of HbA1c <7%. The reduction depended mainly on preintensification HbA1c values, with small differences between drugs.