Initiating or switching to insulin degludec/insulin aspart in a real-world population of adults with type 2 diabetes in Australia: results from a prospective, non-interventional study

Background: Insulin degludec/insulin aspart (IDegAsp) is a fixed-ratio co-formulation of insulin degludec and insulin aspart for the treatment of people with diabetes and suboptimal glycaemic control. Few real-world studies of IDegAsp treatment have been conducted. Here, we report results from the Australian cohort of the global ARISE study of real-world IDegAsp use. Aims: To investigate glycaemic control and other clinical outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) treated with IDegAsp in a real-world setting in Australia. Methods: A total of 183 adults with T2D initiating or switching to IDegAsp in the Australian cohort of the open-label, non-interventional ARISE study were followed for 26-36 weeks from August 2019 to December 2020. Results: IDegAsp was associated with significant reductions from baseline to end of study (EOS) in mean glycated haemoglobin (estimated change -0.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): -1.05 to -0.56; P < 0.0001)), fasting plasma glucose (-1.6 mmol/L (95% CI: -2.49 to -0.63; P = 0.0017)) and body weight (-2.6 kg (95% CI: -3.68 to -1.55; P < 0.0001)). In insulin-experienced patients, the mean total daily insulin dose did not change significantly (estimated change from baseline to EOS 3.8 (95% CI: -3.70 to 11.21; P = 0.3202)). The proportion of patients experiencing hypoglycaemia numerically decreased during the study (non-severe: 14.2-10.9%; nocturnal non-severe: 4.9-2.2%; and severe: 2.2-0%). Conclusions: Initiating or switching to IDegAsp in a real-world population of people with T2D in Australia was associated with significant improvements in glycaemic control and body weight, and numerically lower levels of hypoglycaemia compared with baseline.