Decline in use of high-risk agents for tight glucose control among older adults with diabetes in New York City: 2017-2022

J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Sep;72(9):2721-2729. doi: 10.1111/jgs.19060. Epub 2024 Jul 9.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of inappropriate tight glycemic control in older adults with type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions in New York City, and to identify factors associated with this practice.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the INSIGHT Clinical Research Network. The study population included 11,728 and 15,196 older adults in New York City (age ≥ 75 years) with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, and at least one other chronic medical condition, in 2017 and 2022, respectively. The main outcome of interest was inappropriate tight glycemic control, defined as HbA1c <7.0% (<53 mmol/mol) with prescription of at least one high-risk agent (insulin or insulin secretagogue).

Results: The proportion of older adults with inappropriate tight glycemic control decreased by nearly 19% over a five-year period (19.4% in 2017 to 15.8% in 2022). There was a significant decrease in insulin (27.8% in 2017; 24.3% in 2022) and sulfonylurea (29.4% in 2017; 21.7% in 2022) medication prescription, and increase in use of GLP-1 agonists (1.8% in 2017; 11.4% in 2022) and SGLT-2 inhibitors (5.8% in 2017; 25.1% in 2022), among the total population. Factors associated with inappropriate tight glycemic control in 2022 included history of heart failure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.38), chronic kidney disease ([aOR] 1.93), colorectal cancer ([aOR] 1.38), acute myocardial infarction ([aOR] 1.28), "other" ([aOR] 0.72) or "unknown" ([aOR] 0.72) race, and a point increase in BMI ([aOR] 0.98).

Conclusions: We found an encouraging trend toward less use of high-risk medication strategies for older adults with type 2 diabetes and multiple chronic conditions. However, one in six patients in 2022 still had inappropriate tight glycemic control, indicating a need for continued efforts to optimize diabetes management in this population.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus; glycemic control; insulin.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Blood Glucose / drug effects
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / blood
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / drug therapy
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Glycated Hemoglobin / analysis
  • Glycemic Control* / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Hypoglycemic Agents* / therapeutic use
  • Insulin / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • New York City / epidemiology
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • Hypoglycemic Agents
  • Insulin
  • Glycated Hemoglobin
  • Blood Glucose