Persistence With Oral Antihyperglycemic Drugs in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients With Dementia in Germany.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the persistence with oral antihyperglycemic drugs in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with dementia in Germany.

METHODS: This study included adults with T2DM who were treated with oral antihyperglycemic drugs and were diagnosed with dementia in 1262 German general practices between January 2013 and December 2015 (index date). Dementia cases were matched (1:1) to controls without dementia by age, gender, type of practice, type of residence, physician, and initial antihyperglycemic therapy, using a propensity score method. The primary outcome of the study was the rate of persistence with oral antihyperglycemic drugs in dementia cases and controls without dementia in the year following the index date. Persistence was estimated as therapy time without treatment discontinuation, which was defined as at least 90 days without oral antihyperglycemic therapy. Cox regressions were used to determine the impact of dementia on persistence with oral antihyperglycemic treatment in the entire population and in different subgroups.

RESULTS: This study included 848 T2DM patients with dementia and 848 T2DM patients without dementia. In the dementia group, 39.2% of patients were men, while the control group included 40.8% men. After 12 months of follow-up, 72.7% of dementia cases and 71.4% of controls without dementia were persistent ( P = .291). No significant association was found between dementia and persistence with oral antihyperglycemic drugs in the entire population and in different subgroups (HR ranging from 0.84 to 1.25).

CONCLUSIONS: Dementia did not have a significant impact on persistence with oral antihyperglycemic drugs in T2DM patients in Germany.