Treatment Patterns and Associated Clinical Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Patients Initiating Second-Line Glucose-Lowering Therapy: Interim Analysis of Baseline Data from Turkey Arm of the Global DISCOVER Study

Objective: To evaluate the treatment patterns and associated clinical outcomes in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients initiating a second-line glucose-lowering therapy. Material and Methods: This paper presents a preliminary subgroup analysis of the baseline data collected from 536 patients [mean (standard deviation) age: 55.1 (10.0) years, 50.2% were males] in the Turkey arm of global observational DISCOVER study among T2D patients initiating second-line glucose-lowering therapy. Patient demographics, disease (duration, complications) and treatment (type of regimens, modifications) characteristics, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and systolic blood pressure (BP) target achievement rates and the patient-reported outcomes were recorded at the initiation of second-line therapy. Results: Overall, 11.7% of patients were HbA1c target of <7% at baseline, 62.5% were systolic BP target of <140 mmHg and 21.2% were LDL-C target of <100 mg/dL. Major and minor hypoglycemic events were noted in 5.5% and 10.7% of patients, while macro and microvascular complications in 17.2% and 20.1% of patients, respectively. Metformin monot- herapy (47.9%) and metformin+sulfonylurea combination (22.6%) were the two most common first-line therapies. However, insulin (32.3%) was the most commonly prescribed second-line agent. Lifestyle assessment revealed a healthy lifestyle in 50.7% of patients. Conclusion: Our finding revealed a failure to achieve HbA1c, LDL-C, and systolic BP targets and a high rate of diabetes-related complications before initiation of second-line therapy in a significant proportion of Turkish T20 patients. Thus, emphasizing a need for more aggressive risk factor screening and modification at early disease stages and earlier treatment intensification among T2D patients.