Evaluation of insulin regimens as an effective option for glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes: A propensity score-matched cohort study across Japan (JDDM31)

Aims/introduction: We evaluated the long-term efficacy of insulin regimens in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and poor glycemic control despite oral antidiabetic drugs (OAD).

Materials and methods: We carried out a propensity score-matched cohort study using the CoDiC(®) database of the Japan Diabetes Data Management Study Group across 54 institutions in Japan from 2005 to 2010. A total of 10,854 patients on OAD in 2005 were studied, and 1,253 patients (11.5%) were treated with insulin until 2010. The changes in insulin regimens and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were analyzed over this study period.

Results: Propensity score matching showed no differences in the baseline patient characteristics. A total of 96 patients transferred to insulin, and HbA1c gradually and significantly decreased in the patients on a twice-daily premixed preparation of rapid-acting human-insulin analogs (twice-daily MIX) and basal-bolus therapy with rapid-acting human-insulin analogs (RA) plus long-acting insulin analog (LA; P < 0.001). A total of 418 patients had insulin added to OAD treatment, and HbA1c decreased in the patients with a twice-daily MIX (P < 0.001), but HbA1c did not differ from the baseline values in the patients on basal LA (P = 0.497). The mean decline in HbA1c at the end of the study was therefore larger in the patients receiving twice-daily MIX than in the patients receiving basal LA (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The present study could suggest the potential loss of opportunity for many patients treated using basal LA to have received alternative insulin regimens and to achieve better glycemic control.