Aim: To describe clinical characteristics and antihyperglycemic treatment patterns in patients with varying duration of diabetes.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey of 61890 type 2 diabetic (DM2) patients from the Swedish National Diabetes Register (NDR) in 2004. We also analysed the effect of types of treatment and risk factors on glycaemic control in a longitudinal cohort study from 1996 to 2004. HbA(1c), risk factors and treatments were determined locally in primary care as well as hospital outpatient clinics.
Results: Insulin was frequently used in DM2 patients with long duration of diabetes, although the mean HbA(1c) increased and only a few in this group reached HbA(1c) <7.0%. Patients showing long-term improvement in HbA(1c) (>1%) from 1996 to 2004 were more often treated with insulin than with oral hypoglycaemic agents (OHA). During this period, the HbA(1c) levels leading to additional treatment decreased. A low BMI, decreasing BMI and not smoking were predictors of good long-term metabolic control. Hypertension and hyperlipidaemia were frequent in both newly diagnosed DM2 patients and in patients with a long duration of diabetes.
Conclusions: Insulin treatment was frequently used, particularly in patients with a long duration of DM2. The glycaemic control, which usually deteriorates over time, did not reach the recommended goal, despite the fact that complementary treatment was added at lower HbA(1c) levels in 2003 than in 1996. High frequencies of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and high 10-year risks of coronary heart disease necessitate intensified risk factor control in the future.