Clinical experience with insulin detemir, biphasic insulin aspart and insulin aspart in people with type 2 diabetes: Results from the Bangalore cohort of the A1chieve study.

BACKGROUND: The A1chieve, a multicentric (28 countries), 24-week, non-interventional study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of insulin detemir, biphasic insulin aspart and insulin aspart in people with T2DM (n = 66,726) in routine clinical care across four continents.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data was collected at baseline, at 12 weeks and at 24 weeks. This short communication presents the results for patients enrolled from Bangalore, India.
RESULTS: A total of 1533 patients were enrolled in the study. Four different insulin analogue regimens were used in the study. Patients had started on or were switched to biphasic insulin aspart (n = 1262), insulin detemir (n = 165), insulin aspart (n = 86), basal insulin plus insulin aspart (n = 11) and other insulin combinations (n = 2). At baseline glycaemic control was poor for both insulin naïve (mean HbA1c: 9.2%) and insulin users (mean HbA1c: 8.8%) groups. After 24 weeks of treatment, both groups showed improvement in HbA1c (insulin naïve: -1.3%, insulin users: -1.5%). SADRs including major hypoglycaemic events or episodes did not occur in any of the study patients.
CONCLUSION: Starting or switching to insulin analogues was associated with improvement in glycaemic control with a low rate of hypoglycaemia.

INTRODUCTION

62.4 million Indians were reported to have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) putting India on the forefront of diabetic epidemic across globe.[12] Fear of hypoglycaemia and gain in body weight are barriers for initiation of insulin therapy.[3] Modern insulin analogues are a convenient new approach or tool to glycaemic control, associated with low number of hypoglycaemia and favourable weight change.[4] A1chieve, a multinational, 24-week, non-interventional study, assessed the safety and effectiveness of insulin analogues in people with T2DM (n = 66,726) in routine clinical care.[5] This short communication presents the results for patients enrolled from Bangalore, India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Please refer to editorial titled: The A1chieve study: Mapping the Ibn Battuta trail.

RESULTS

A total of 1533 patients were enrolled in the study. The patient characteristics for the entire cohort divided as insulin-naïve and insulin users are shown in Table 1. Glycaemic control at baseline was poor in this population. The majority of patients (82.3%) started on or were switched to biphasic insulin aspart. Other groups were insulin detemir (n = 165), insulin aspart (n = 86), basal insulin plus insulin aspart (n = 11) and other insulin combinations (n = 2).

Table 1

Overall demographic data

After 24 weeks of treatment, overall hypoglycaemia reduced from 6.2 events/patient-year to 0.0 events/patient-year in insulin users group. In insulin naïve group, hypoglycaemia was nil similar to that of baseline. No hypoglycaemic episode in insulin naive group even at 24 weeks suggests low event rate than insulin users at baseline. SADRs including major hypoglycaemic events or episodes did not occur in any of the study patients. Body weight decreased and blood pressure improved at week 24 in the total cohort, but the findings were limited by number of observations. Quality of life also improved at the end of study [Tables 2 and 3].

Table 2

Overall safety data

Table 3

Insulin dose

All parameters of glycaemic control improved from baseline to study end in the total cohort [Table 4].

Table 4

Overall efficacy data

Biphasic insulin aspart ± OGLD

Of the total cohort, 1262 patients started on biphasic insulin aspart ± OGLD, of which 1133 (89.8%) were insulin naïve and 129 (10.2%) were insulin users. After 24 weeks of starting or switching to biphasic insulin aspart, hypoglycaemic events reduced from 6.9 events/patient-year to 0.0 events/patient-year in insulin users group, while remained nil, similar to baseline in insulin naive group. Body weight decreased and quality of life improved at the end of the study [Tables 5 and 6].

Table 5

Biphasic insulin aspart±oral glucose-lowering drug safety data

Table 6

Insulin dose

All parameters of glycaemic control improved from baseline to study end in those who started on or were switched to biphasic insulin aspart for both insulin naïve and insulin user groups [Table 7].

Table 7

Biphasic insulin aspart±oral glucose-lowering drug efficacy data

Basal + insulin aspart ± OGLD

Of the total cohort, 11 patients who started on basal + insulin aspart ± OGLD, of which 06 (54.5%) were insulin naïve and 05 (45.5%) were insulin users. After 24 weeks of treatment, hypoglycaemic events remained nil for both insulin naïve and insulin users groups similar to that of baseline. Quality of life improved in insulin naïve group at the end of the study [Tables 8 and 9].

Table 8

Basal+insulin aspart±oral glucose-lowering drug safety data

Table 9

Insulin dose

Mean HbA1c value improved from baseline to study end in those who started on basal + insulin aspart ± OGLDs for insulin naïve group [Table 10].

Table 10

Basal+insulin aspart±oral glucose-lowering drug efficacy data

Insulin detemir ± OGLD

Of the total cohort, 165 patients started on insulin detemir ± OGLD, of which 162 (98.2%) were insulin naïve and 03 (1.8%) were insulin users. After 24 weeks of treatment, hypoglycaemic events remained nil for both insulin naïve and insulin users groups similar to that of baseline. Quality of life also improved by the end of the study [Tables 11 and 12].

Table 11

Insulin detemir±oral glucose-lowering drug safety data

Table 12

Insulin dose

All parameters of glycaemic control improved from baseline to study end in those who started on insulin detemir ± OGLDs for insulin naïve group [Table 13].

Table 13

Insulin detemir±oral glucose-lowering drug efficacy data

Insulin aspart ± OGLD

Of the total cohort, 86 patients started on insulin aspart ± OGLD, of which 83 (96.5%) were insulin naïve and 03 (3.5%) were insulin users. Quality of life improved after 24 weeks of treatment [Tables 14 and 15].

Table 14

Insulin aspart±oral glucose-lowering drug safety data

Table 15

Insulin dose

All parameters of glycaemic control improved from baseline to study end in those who started on or were switched to insulin aspart ± OGLDs for insulin naïve group [Table 16].

Table 16

Insulin aspart±oral glucose-lowering drug efficacy data

CONCLUSION

Our study reports improved glycaemic control and quality of life following 24 weeks of treatment with any of the insulin analogues (biphasic insulin aspart; basal + insulin aspart; insulin detemir; insulin aspart) with or without OGLD. SADRs including major hypoglycaemic events or episodes did not occur in any of the study patients. A decrease in body weight was observed for the overall cohort. Though the findings are limited by number of patients, still the trend indicates that insulin analogues can be considered effective and possess a safe profile for treating type 2 diabetes in Bangalore, India.