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Trends in Antihyperglycemic Medication Prescriptions and Hypoglycemia in Older Adults: 2002-2013.

ABSTRACT: Over the last decade, several new antihyperglycemic medications have been introduced including those associated with a lower hypoglycemia risk. We aimed to investigate how these medications are being prescribed to older adults in our region.We conducted population-based cross-sectional analyses of older adults (mean age 75 years) with treated diabetes in Ontario, Canada from 2002 until 2013, to examine the percentage prescribed insulin, sulphonylureas, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, metformin, thiazolidinediones, meglitinides, and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. Over the study period, we also examined their hospital encounters for hypoglycemia (emergency room or inpatient encounter).The mean age of treated patients increased slightly over the study quarters and the proportion that were women declined. With the exception of chronic kidney disease, cancer, dementia, and neuropathy, the percentage with a comorbidity appeared to decline. The percentage of treated patients prescribed metformin, gliclazide and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors increased as did combination therapy. Glyburide and thiazolidinedione prescriptions declined, and insulin use remained stable. In those with newly treated diabetes, the majority were prescribed metformin, with smaller percentages prescribed insulin and other oral agents. Although the absolute number of treated patients with a hypoglycemia encounter increased until mid-2006 and then decreased, the overall percentage with an encounter declined over the study period (0.8% with an event in the first quarter, 0.4% with an event in the last quarter).Antihyperglycemic medications with safer profiles are being increasingly prescribed to older adults. In this setting there has been a decrease in the percentage of treated patients with a hospital encounter for hypoglycemia.

SUBMITTER: Clemens KK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4559313 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Trends in Antihyperglycemic Medication Prescriptions and Hypoglycemia in Older Adults: 2002-2013.

Clemens Kristin K KK Shariff Salimah S Liu Kuan K Hramiak Irene I Mahon Jeffrey L JL McArthur Eric E Garg Amit X AX

PloS one 20150903 9

<h4>Background</h4>Over the last decade, several new antihyperglycemic medications have been introduced including those associated with a lower hypoglycemia risk. We aimed to investigate how these medications are being prescribed to older adults in our region.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted population-based cross-sectional analyses of older adults (mean age 75 years) with treated diabetes in Ontario, Canada from 2002 until 2013, to examine the percentage prescribed insulin, sulphonylureas, alpha-gl ...[more]

PMID: 26335938

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Project description:Importance:High rates of inappropriate prescribing persist among older adults in many outpatient settings, increasing the risk of adverse drug events and drug-related hospitalizations. Objective:To compare the effectiveness of a consumer-targeted, pharmacist-led educational intervention vs usual care on discontinuation of inappropriate medication among community-dwelling older adults. Design, Setting, and Participants:A cluster randomized trial (D-PRESCRIBE [Developing Pharmacist-Led Research to Educate and Sensitize Community Residents to the Inappropriate Prescriptions Burden in the Elderly]) that recruited community pharmacies in Quebec, Canada, from February 2014 to September 2017, with follow-up until February 2018, and randomly allocated them to intervention or control groups. Patients included were adults aged 65 years and older who were prescribed 1 of 4 Beers Criteria medications (sedative-hypnotics, first-generation antihistamines, glyburide, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), recruited from 69 community pharmacies. Patients were screened and enrolled before randomization. Interventions:Pharmacists in the intervention group were encouraged to send patients an educational deprescribing brochure in parallel to sending their physicians an evidence-based pharmaceutical opinion to recommend deprescribing. The pharmacists in the control group provided usual care. Randomization occurred at the pharmacy level, with 34 pharmacies randomized to the intervention group (248 patients) and 35 to the control group (241 patients). Patients, physicians, pharmacists, and evaluators were blinded to outcome assessment. Main Outcomes and Measures:Discontinuation of prescriptions for inappropriate medication at 6 months, ascertained by pharmacy medication renewal profiles. Results:Among 489 patients (mean age, 75 years; 66% women), 437 (89%) completed the trial (219 [88%] in the intervention group vs 218 [91%] in the control group). At 6 months, 106 of 248 patients (43%) in the intervention group no longer filled prescriptions for inappropriate medication compared with 29 of 241 (12%) in the control group (risk difference, 31% [95% CI, 23% to 38%]). In the intervention vs control group, discontinuation of inappropriate medication occurred among 63 of 146 sedative-hypnotic drug users (43.2%) vs 14 of 155 (9.0%), respectively (risk difference, 34% [95% CI, 25% to 43%]); 19 of 62 glyburide users (30.6%) vs 8 of 58 (13.8%), respectively (risk difference, 17% [95% CI, 2% to 31%]); and 19 of 33 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug users (57.6%) vs 5 of 23 (21.7%), respectively (risk difference, 35% [95% CI, 10% to 55%]) (P for interaction = .09). Analysis of the antihistamine drug class was not possible because of the small sample size (n?=?12). No adverse events requiring hospitalization were reported, although 29 of 77 patients (38%) who attempted to taper sedative-hypnotics reported withdrawal symptoms. Conclusions and Relevance:Among older adults in Quebec, a pharmacist-led educational intervention compared with usual care resulted in greater discontinuation of prescriptions for inappropriate medication after 6 months. The generalizability of these findings to other settings requires further research. Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02053194.

Dataset Information

Trends in Antihyperglycemic Medication Prescriptions and Hypoglycemia in Older Adults: 2002-2013.

Publications

Trends in Antihyperglycemic Medication Prescriptions and Hypoglycemia in Older Adults: 2002-2013.

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