Global pharmacologic treatments of type 2 diabetes outlined in new study

Substantial differences in real-world use of glucose-lowering medications across the US, Sweden and Israel have been highlighted by a team of researchers.  

A new study has found that the use of glucose-lowering medications among people with type 2 diabetes was substantially lower in the US and Sweden compared to in Israel.

During the research process, the team of academics examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from the US, Stockholm CREAtinine Measurements (SCREAM) from Sweden and Maccabi Healthcare Services from Israel.

They found that among people who took at least one glucose-lowering medication in 2017 to 2018, metformin use was lower in NHANES and SCREAM (74.1 per cent in NHANES, 75.9 per cent in SCREAM, and 92.6 per cent in Maccabi) whereas sulfonylureas use was greater in NHANES (31.5 per cent in NHANES, 16.0 per cent in SCREAM, and 14.9 per cent in Maccabi).

According to the results, the adoption of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors and sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) was slower in NHANES and SCREAM than in Maccabi.

The report states: “History of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, heart failure, reduced kidney function, or albuminuria was not consistently associated with greater use of SGLT2i or glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) across the three countries.”

To access the entire research study, click here.