Assessment of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with metformin-sulfonylurea combination: Results of a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study in Korea

Abstract

Aims/IntroductionTo assess the current status of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea for >3months, as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Materials and MethodsData on patient demographics, diabetic complications, HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and type of treatment were collected in this multicenter, cross-sectional, non-interventional study. ResultsFrom April 2008 to February 2009, 5,628 patients were recruited from 299 centers in Korea. Patients characteristics (meanSD) were as follows: age 58.4 +/- 10.8years, duration of diabetes 6.1 +/- 4.7years, body mass index 24.7 +/- 2.9kg/m(2), HbA1c 7.77 +/- 1.22%, FBG 147.4 +/- 46.5mmol/L and FPG 164.0 +/- 54.3mmol/L. The most common diabetic complication was neuropathy (22.5%), followed by retinopathy (18.3%) and microalbuminuria (16.1%). Just 1,524 (27.1%) patients achieved HbA1c 7%. A higher number of patients (32.6%) treated by endocrinologists achieved HbA1c 7% than those treated by internists (24.4%) and primary care physicians (23.2%). In multivariate analyses, diabetic retinopathy (odds ratio 0.455, 95% confidence interval 0.341-0.606), nephropathy (odds ratio 0.639, 95% confidence interval 0.43-0.949), diabetes for 5years (odds ratio 0.493, 95% confidence interval 0.4-0.606) and older age added by 1year (odds ratio 1.019, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.029) was significantly associated with achieving target HbA1c. In addition, treatment by endocrinologists rather than internists significantly increased chances of achieving target HbA1c (odds ratio 1.417, 95% confidence interval 1.146-1.751). ConclusionsThe majority of patients with type2 diabetes in Korea had inadequate glycemic control, despite receiving a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea.