Assessment of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with metformin–sulfonylurea combination: Results of a multicenter, cross‐sectional, observational study in Korea

Aims/Introduction To assess the current status of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea for >3 months, as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Materials and Methods Data on patient demographics, diabetic complications, HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose ( FPG ) and type of treatment were collected in this multicenter, cross‐sectional, non‐interventional study. Results From April 2008 to February 2009, 5,628 patients were recruited from 299 centers in Korea. Patients characteristics (mean ± SD) were as follows: age 58.4 ± 10.8 years, duration of diabetes 6.1 ± 4.7 years, body mass index 24.7 ± 2.9 kg/m 2 , HbA1c 7.77 ± 1.22%, FBG 147.4 ± 46.5 mmol/L and FPG 164.0 ± 54.3 mmol/L. The most common diabetic complication was neuropathy (22.5%), followed by retinopathy (18.3%) and microalbuminuria (16.1%). Just 1,524 (27.1%) patients achieved HbA1c ≤7%. A higher number of patients (32.6%) treated by endocrinologists achieved HbA1c ≤7% than those treated by internists (24.4%) and primary care physicians (23.2%). In multivariate analyses, diabetic retinopathy (odds ratio 0.455, 95% confidence interval 0.341–0.606), nephropathy (odds ratio 0.639, 95% confidence interval 0.43–0.949), diabetes for ≥5 years (odds ratio 0.493, 95% confidence interval 0.4–0.606) and older age added by 1 year (odds ratio 1.019, 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.029) was significantly associated with achieving target HbA1c. In addition, treatment by endocrinologists rather than internists significantly increased chances of achieving target HbA1c (odds ratio 1.417, 95% confidence interval 1.146–1.751). Conclusions The majority of patients with type 2 diabetes in Korea had inadequate glycemic control, despite receiving a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea.