Overtreatment and associated risk factors among multimorbid older patients with diabetes

Oliver Baretella, Heba Alwan, Martin Feller, Carole E Aubert, Cinzia Del Giovane, Dimitrios Papazoglou, Antoine Christiaens, Arend-Jan Meinders, Stephen Byrne, Patricia M Kearney, Denis O'Mahony, Wilma Knol, Benoît Boland, Baris Gencer, Drahomir Aujesky, Nicolas Rodondi

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Abstract

Background: In multimorbid older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the intensity of glucose-lowering medication (GLM) should be focused on attaining a suitable level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA 1c) while avoiding side effects. We aimed at identifying patients with overtreatment of T2DM as well as associated risk factors. Methods: In a secondary analysis of a multicenter study of multimorbid older patients, we evaluated HbA 1c levels among patients with T2DM. Patients were aged ≥70 years, with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diagnoses) and polypharmacy (≥5 chronic medications), enrolled in four university medical centers across Europe (Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, and Switzerland). We defined overtreatment as HbA 1c < 7.5% with ≥1 GLM other than metformin, as suggested by Choosing Wisely and used prevalence ratios (PRs) to evaluate risk factors of overtreatment in age- and sex-adjusted analyses. Results: Among the 564 patients with T2DM (median age 78 years, 39% women), mean ± standard deviation HbA 1c was 7.2 ± 1.2%. Metformin (prevalence 51%) was the most frequently prescribed GLM and 199 (35%) patients were overtreated. The presence of severe renal impairment (PR 1.36, 1.21–1.53) and outpatient physician (other than general practitioner [GP], i.e. specialist) or emergency department visits (PR 1.22, 1.03–1.46 for 1–2 visits, and PR 1.35, 1.19–1.54 for ≥3 visits versus no visits) were associated with overtreatment. These factors remained associated with overtreatment in multivariable analyses. Conclusions: In this multicountry study of multimorbid older patients with T2DM, more than one third were overtreated, highlighting the high prevalence of this problem. Careful balancing of benefits and risks in the choice of GLM may improve patient care, especially in the context of comorbidities such as severe renal impairment, and frequent non-GP healthcare contacts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2893-2901
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of the American Geriatrics Society
Volume71
Issue number9
Early online date7 Jun 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2023

Keywords

  • glucose-lowering medication
  • HbA
  • multimorbidity
  • polypharmacy
  • type 2 diabetes mellitus

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