New Predictor of Successful Glycemic Control Identified
The authors of a new study have identified at least 1 new predictive factor of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.
“Along with some well-known predictive factors, this study suggested that early insulin regimen treatment initiation and/or intensification allowed patients to promote glycemic control,” the researchers wrote.
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These findings arose from a study of 2704 patients with poor glycemic control—defined as a mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 9.7% and a fasting blood glucose of 196.8 mg/dL. Follow-up lasted 12 years.
All patients in the study required initiation of basal insulin, initiation of bolus insulin, or modification from basal or premixed insulin to a new regimen with insulin glargine and/or insulin glulisine.
At 6 months, the researchers found that the likelihood of achieving glycemic targets in patients with type 2 diabetes was predicted by:
- Older age
- Caucasian ethnicity
- Shorter duration of type 2 diabetes (1 year vs more than 10 years)
- Lower HbA1c at baseline (less than 7% vs 8.5% or higher)
- No oral antidiabetic drug use (no drugs vs 2 drugs)
The researchers noted that the absolute changes in mean HbA1c in this cohort at 6 months and 12 months were -1.7% and -2%, respectively.
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
Al Mansari A, Obeid Y, Islam N, et al. GOAL study: clinical and non-clinical predictive factors for achieving glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes in real clinical practice [Published online July 10, 2018]. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2018-000519