Estimating the prevalence and incidence of treated type 2 diabetes using prescription data as a proxy: A stepwise approach on Iranian data

Alireza Mirahmadizadeh; Sayed Aliakbar Banihashemi; Mehdi Hashemi; Sanaz Amiri; Suzan Basir; Alireza Heiran; Omid Keshavarzian

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07260

Estimating the prevalence and incidence of treated type 2 diabetes using prescription data as a proxy: A stepwise approach on Iranian data

Heliyon. 2021 Jun 9;7(6):e07260. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07260. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Authors

Alireza Mirahmadizadeh¹, Sayed Aliakbar Banihashemi², Mehdi Hashemi³, Sanaz Amiri⁴, Suzan Basir⁴, Alireza Heiran¹, Omid Keshavarzian⁵

Affiliations

¹ Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
² Kazeroun Branch, College of Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Kazeroun, Iran.
³ Social Security Insurance, Shiraz, Iran.
⁴ Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
⁵ Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Aims: Type 2 diabetes is a serious health challenge, and large-scale studies on its prevalence in Iran are lacking. In pharmacoepidemiology, case-finding can be done by reviewing the prescription databases for specific drug(s) prescribed for a disease. We aimed to determine the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes in Fars province, Iran, using prescription data and a stepwise approach to ascertain the results.

Methods: A dataset of 3,113 insured individuals aged ≥35 years were selected. Their Prescription Data Centre records were reviewed for all drugs frequently used in controlling type 2 diabetes available in the Iranian pharmacopeia. Then we used a stepwise method for case-finding. In step one, each individual with a positive drug history for type 2 diabetes was labeled as an individual with diabetes. The next two steps were implemented for ascertainment of step one estimations.

Results: Prevalence of type 2 diabetes based on prescription, internist opinion, and phone call verification in 2015 and 2016 was 9.3% and 10.3%, 8.5% and 9.8%, and 7.2% and 8.7%, respectively. An incidence of 1.9% was determined for 2016.

Conclusions: We obtained a realistic estimation of prevalence and incidence of treated type 2 diabetes, using prescription data which are large-scale, low cost, and real-time.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Prescription drug; Prevalence.