Evaluation of effectiveness of treatment paradigm for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients in Chin: A nationwide prospective cohort study

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Data of nationwide glycemic control and hypoglycemic treatment patterns in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients in China are absent. The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of treatment patterns for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients and the clinical outcomes during 12‐month follow up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an observational prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow up. Patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes for <6 months were enrolled. Glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and hypoglycemic treatment patterns were collected at baseline and at every 3 months of follow up. RESULTS: A total of 79 hospitals were recruited, consisting of 5,770 participants. The mean HbA1c was 8.4 ± 2.5% at baseline, and decreased to 6.7 ± 1.2% at 12 months with 68.5% of patients achieving HbA1c <7%. At baseline, 44.6% of the patients were without hypoglycemic medications, 37.7% had oral hypoglycemic agents and 17.7% received insulin treatment. Determinants of change in HbA1c were treatment patterns, comorbidities, baseline characteristics such as obesity and smoking, regions, and tiers of hospitals. Associated factors with treatment alterations were time of follow up, treatment patterns, patient‐reported reasons such as the economic factors and poor efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: In newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients, compared with patients without medications, patients with one oral hypoglycemic agent had higher possibilities of reaching glycemic control, whereas patients using insulin had lower possibilities of reaching the target. Factors associated with change in HbA1c and treatment alterations were also revealed.