Study of Once Daily Levemir (SOLVE™): insights into the timing of insulin initiation in people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes in routine clinical practice

  1. K. Khunti1,*,
  2. T. Damci2,
  3. L. Meneghini3,
  4. C. Y. Pan4,
  5. J.-F. Yale5,
  6. on behalf of the SOLVE Study Group

Article first published online: 22 APR 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-1326.2012.01602.x

Issue

Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism

Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism

Volume 14, Issue 7, pages 654–661, July 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Khunti, K., Damci, T., Meneghini, L., Pan, C. Y., Yale, J.-F. and on behalf of the SOLVE Study Group (2012), Study of Once Daily Levemir (SOLVE™): insights into the timing of insulin initiation in people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes in routine clinical practice. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 14: 654–661. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-1326.2012.01602.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

  2. 2

    Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Cerrahpasa Medical School, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey

  3. 3

    Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Endocrinology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

  5. 5

    McGill Nutrition and Food Science Centre, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

*Kamlesh Khunti, MD, PhD, Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, 22-28 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP, UK. E-mail: kk22@le.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 1 JUN 2012
  2. Article first published online: 22 APR 2012
  3. Accepted manuscript online: 24 MAR 2012 10:43AM EST
  4. Date submitted 21 December 2011; date of first decision 18 January 2012; date of final acceptance 19 March 2012

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Keywords:

  • clinical inertia;
  • epidemiology;
  • insulin therapy;
  • observational study;
  • oral antidiabetic drug therapy;
  • treatment guidelines;
  • type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aims: The aim of this analysis is to determine the timing of insulin initiation in routine clinical practice, especially in relation to glycaemic control and use of oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs).

Methods: Study of Once Daily Levemir was a 24-week international observational study involving 10 countries which evaluated the safety and effectiveness of initiating once-daily insulin detemir in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) being treated with one or more OADs (clinical trial number NCT00825643 and NCT00740519).

Results: A total of 17 374 participants were enrolled in the study: aged 62 ± 12 years, 53% male, T2DM duration 10 ± 7 years, body mass index 29.3 ± 5.4 kg/m2. Pre-insulin HbA1c was 8.9 ± 1.6%. The proportion of patients with HbA1c ≥9.0% ranged from 64% (UK) to 23% (Poland). Pre-insulin OAD treatment included metformin (81%), sulphonylureas (59%), glinides (16%), thiazolidinediones (TZD) (12%), α-glucosidase inhibitors (12%) and dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-IV inhibitors (7%). The mean starting dose of insulin detemir for the total cohort was 0.16 ± 0.09 U/kg. Differences in OAD use and insulin doses at initiation were evident among participating countries. The largest proportional changes in OAD prescribing at insulin initiation were seen with glinides (+15%), sulphonylureas (−19%), TZD (−31%) and DPP-IV inhibitors (−28%).

Conclusions: Despite well-documented benefits of timely glycaemic control and consensus guidelines encouraging earlier use of insulin, considerable clinical inertia exists with respect to initiating appropriate insulin therapy in people with T2DM. Considerable regional differences exist in the timing of insulin initiation and in the use of OADs.

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