Baseline Characteristics of Randomized Participants in the Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE)

Diabetes Care. 2019 Nov;42(11):2098-2107. doi: 10.2337/dc19-0901. Epub 2019 Aug 7.

Abstract

Objective: GRADE (Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study) is a 36-center unmasked, parallel treatment group, randomized controlled trial evaluating four diabetes medications added to metformin in people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We report baseline characteristics and compare GRADE participants to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cohort.

Research design and methods: Participants were age ≥30 years at the time of diagnosis, with duration of T2DM <10 years, HbA1c 6.8-8.5% (51-69 mmol/mol), prescribed metformin monotherapy, and randomized to glimepiride, sitagliptin, liraglutide, or insulin glargine.

Results: At baseline, GRADE's 5,047 randomized participants were 57.2 ± 10.0 years of age, 63.6% male, with racial/ethnic breakdown of 65.7% white, 19.8% African American, 3.6% Asian, 2.7% Native American, 7.6% other or unknown, and 18.4% Hispanic/Latino. Duration of diabetes was 4.2 ± 2.8 years, with mean HbA1c of 7.5 ± 0.5% (58 ± 5.3 mmol/mol), BMI of 34.3 ± 6.8 kg/m2, and metformin dose of 1,944 ± 204 mg/day. Among the cohort, 67% reported a history of hypertension, 72% a history of hyperlipidemia, and 6.5% a history of heart attack or stroke. Applying GRADE inclusion criteria to NHANES indicates enrollment of a representative cohort with T2DM on metformin monotherapy (NHANES cohort average age, 57.9 years; mean HbA1c, 7.4% [57 mmol/mol]; BMI, 33.2 kg/m2; duration, 4.2 ± 2.5 years; and 7.2% with a history of cardiovascular disease).

Conclusions: The GRADE cohort represents patients with T2DM treated with metformin requiring a second diabetes medication. GRADE will inform decisions about the clinical effectiveness of the addition of four classes of diabetes medications to metformin.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01794143.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Blood Glucose / drug effects
  • Cohort Studies
  • Comparative Effectiveness Research
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / blood
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / drug therapy*
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Female
  • Glycated Hemoglobin / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Hypoglycemic Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Insulin Glargine / administration & dosage*
  • Liraglutide / administration & dosage*
  • Male
  • Metformin / administration & dosage
  • Middle Aged
  • Nutrition Surveys
  • Sitagliptin Phosphate / administration & dosage*
  • Sulfonylurea Compounds / administration & dosage*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Blood Glucose
  • Glycated Hemoglobin A
  • Hypoglycemic Agents
  • Sulfonylurea Compounds
  • Insulin Glargine
  • glimepiride
  • Liraglutide
  • Metformin
  • Sitagliptin Phosphate

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01794143