Findings show that people with type II diabetes in Europe had insulin initiated at a mean HbA1c of 9.6% and more than 12 months prior to initiation the mean HbA1c was 8.3%. The International Diabetes Federation recommends a target HbA1c of 6.5% or less.
The Instigate study is an ongoing prospective observational study to gather data on medications for diabetes, clinical outcomes, health related quality of life and cost and resource use when patients with type II diabetes initiate insulin, in the six months prior to insulin initiation and over the following two years.
Dr Andreas Liebl, medical director of the Center for Diabetes and Metabolism, said: “The issues of when to start, add or switch diabetes therapies is often a difficult decision for physicians and diabetes specialists, and can have considerable influence on patient care and the costs of disease management.”