Adherence to Insulin and the Risk of Glucose Deterioration
- Michael J. Blaha12 and
- Tom A. Elasy, MD, MPH12
- 1Department of Medicine, Diabetes Research and Training Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
- 2Center for Health Services Research, Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, Tennessee
- Address correspondence to Tom A. Elasy, MD, MPH, 8210 MCE South Tower, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232. E-mail: tom.elasy{at}vanderbilt.edu
Efforts to improve glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes have been limited by the tendency for patients to experience glycemic deterioration during the maintenance phase of treatment. It has previously been reported that insulin use is a predictor of so-called “hyperglycemic relapse” (1). This previous retrospective study was limited by the inability to adjust for medication adherence, as this measure was not available in the database. Here, we reconsider the relationship between insulin use and hyperglycemic relapse in a prospective cohort study after consideration of medication adherence.
We studied 164 patients currently enrolled in a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases–funded Relapse Prevention Trial. Each patient in this study had documented previous …
