Aims/introduction: The aim of the present prospective observational study was to assess long-term efficacy and safety of insulin degludec as a part of a basal-bolus therapy for Japanese patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in routine clinical practice.
Materials and methods: In the present study, 93 type 1 diabetes patients and 135 type 2 diabetes patients treated with insulin glargine or detemir were switched from their basal insulin to insulin degludec. The primary end-points were the changes in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline at 3, 6 and 12 months. The secondary end-points were changes in body mass index, insulin dose, frequency of hypoglycemia and adverse events.
Results: HbA1c levels from baseline were significantly reduced at 3, 6, and 12 months by 0.4, 0.4 and 0.3% in type 1 diabetes patients, respectively, and by 0.5, 0.5 and 0.3% in type 2 diabetes patients, respectively. Body mass index in type 1 diabetes patients increased significantly (P < 0.05), whereas that in type 2 diabetes patients did not change. Basal insulin dose decreased significantly at 3 months after switching (P < 0.05), and returned baseline dose at 12 months in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes patients. The frequency of both total and nocturnal hypoglycemia decreased significantly in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes patients (P < 0.05). The result of multiple regression analysis showed that baseline HbA1c was a significant independent variable of the percentage change in HbA1c with switching.
Conclusion: In both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes patients, switching from insulin glargine or insulin detemir to insulin degludec led to improvement of glycemic control with a significant reduction of hypoglycemia.
Keywords: Insulin degludec; Insulin detemir; Insulin glargine.
© 2016 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes Investigation published by Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.