Initiating or switching to insulin degludec/insulin aspart in a real‐world population of adults with type 2 diabetes in Australia: results from a prospective, non‐interventional study

Background Insulin degludec/insulin aspart (IDegAsp) is a fixed‐ratio co‐formulation of insulin degludec and insulin aspart for the treatment of people with diabetes and suboptimal glycaemic control. Few real‐world studies of IDegAsp treatment have been conducted. Here, we report results from the Australian cohort of the global ARISE study of real‐world IDegAsp use. Aims To investigate glycaemic control and other clinical outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) treated with IDegAsp in a real‐world setting in Australia. Methods A total of 183 adults with T2D initiating or switching to IDegAsp in the Australian cohort of the open‐label, non‐interventional ARISE study were followed for 26–36 weeks from August 2019 to December 2020. Results IDegAsp was associated with significant reductions from baseline to end of study (EOS) in mean glycated haemoglobin (estimated change −0.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): −1.05 to −0.56; P < 0.0001)), fasting plasma glucose (−1.6 mmol/L (95% CI: −2.49 to −0.63; P = 0.0017)) and body weight (−2.6 kg (95% CI: −3.68 to −1.55; P < 0.0001)). In insulin‐experienced patients, the mean total daily insulin dose did not change significantly (estimated change from baseline to EOS 3.8 (95% CI: –3.70 to 11.21; P = 0.3202)). The proportion of patients experiencing hypoglycaemia numerically decreased during the study (non‐severe: 14.2–10.9%; nocturnal non‐severe: 4.9–2.2%; and severe: 2.2–0%). Conclusions Initiating or switching to IDegAsp in a real‐world population of people with T2D in Australia was associated with significant improvements in glycaemic control and body weight, and numerically lower levels of hypoglycaemia compared with baseline.