Perspective of Continuous Glucose Monitoring-Based Interventions at the Various Stages of Type 2 Diabetes.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is now advocated for the clinical management of individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, this glucose monitoring strategy is not routinely used in type 2 diabetes (T2D), given the large population, significant cost implications and relatively limited supporting evidence. T2D is a more heterogenous condition compared with T1D with various glucose lowering therapies that do not necessarily require CGM to ensure within target glucose levels. While all individuals with T2D may benefit from CGM at certain time points, the whole T2D population does not necessarily require this technology continuously, which should be prioritized based on patient benefit and cost effectiveness. In this pragmatic opinion piece, we describe the rationale and evidence for CGM use in different subgroups of individuals with T2d, divided according to the stage of the condition, glycemic therapies, presence of diabetes complications, or associated co-morbidities. We discuss a total of 16 T2D subgroups and provide a clinical view on CGM use in each, based on current evidence while also highlighting areas of knowledge gaps. This work provides health care professionals with a simple guide to CGM use in different T2D groups and gives suggestion for future studies to justify expansion of this technology.

The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on diabetes care: the perspective of healthcare providers across Europe.

AIMS: Covid-19 caused changes on the delivery of diabetes care. This study aimed to explore perceptions of healthcare providers across Europe concerning 1) the impact of covid-19 on delivery of diabetes care; 2) impact of changes in diabetes care on experienced workload; 3) experiences with video consultation in diabetes care. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey among healthcare providers in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Turkey, Ukraine and Sweden, with a focus on primary care. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 180 healthcare providers. During the COVID-19 pandemic 57.1% of respondents provided less diabetes care and 72.8% observed a negative impact on people with diabetes. More than half of respondents (61.9%) expressed worries to some extent about getting overloaded by work. Although the vast majority considered their work meaningful (85.6%). Almost half of healthcare providers (49.4%) thought that after the pandemic video-consultation could be blended with face-to-face contact. CONCLUSIONS: Less diabetes care was delivered and a negative impact on people with diabetes was observed by healthcare providers. Despite healthcare providers' feeling overloaded, mental wellbeing seemed unaffected. Video consultations were seen as having potential. Given the remaining covid-19 risks and from the interest of proactive management of people with diabetes, these findings urge for further exploration of incorporating video consultation in diabetes care.

2022 update to the position statement by Primary Care Diabetes Europe: a disease state approach to the pharmacological management of type 2 diabetes in primary care.

Type 2 diabetes and its associated comorbidities are growing more prevalent, and the complexity of optimising glycaemic control is increasing, especially on the frontlines of patient care. In many countries, most patients with type 2 diabetes are managed in a primary care setting. However, primary healthcare professionals face the challenge of the growing plethora of available treatment options for managing hyperglycaemia, leading to difficultly in making treatment decisions and contributing to treatment and therapeutic inertia. This position statement offers a simple and patient-centred clinical decision-making model with practical treatment recommendations that can be widely implemented by primary care clinicians worldwide through shared-decision conversations with their patients. It highlights the importance of managing cardiovascular disease and elevated cardiovascular risk in people with type 2 diabetes and aims to provide innovative risk stratification and treatment strategies that connect patients with the most effective care.

A disease state approach to the pharmacological management of Type 2 diabetes in primary care: A position statement by Primary Care Diabetes Europe.

Type 2 diabetes and its associated comorbidities are growing more prevalent, and the complexity of optimising glycaemic control is increasing, especially on the frontlines of patient care. In many countries, most patients with type 2 diabetes are managed in a primary care setting. However, primary healthcare professionals face the challenge of the growing plethora of available treatment options for managing hyperglycaemia, leading to difficultly in making treatment decisions and contributing to therapeutic inertia. This position statement offers a simple and patient-centred clinical decision-making model with practical treatment recommendations that can be widely implemented by primary care clinicians worldwide through shared-decision conversations with their patients. It highlights the importance of managing cardiovascular disease and elevated cardiovascular risk in people with type 2 diabetes and aims to provide innovative risk stratification and treatment strategies that connect patients with the most effective care.

Impact on guidelines: The general practitioner point of view.

Primary care physicians are uniquely placed to offer holistic, patient-centred care to patients with T2DM. While the recent FDA-mandated cardiovascular outcome trials offer a wealth of data to inform treatment discussions, they have also contributed to increasing complexity in treatment decisions, and in the guidelines that seek to assist in making these decisions. To assist physicians in avoiding treatment inertia, Primary Care Diabetes Europe has formulated a position statement that summarises our current understanding of the available T2DM treatment options in various patient populations. New data from recent outcomes trials is contextualised and summarised for the primary care physician. This consensus paper also proposes a unique and simple tool to stratify patients into 'very high' and 'high' cardiovascular risk categories and outlines treatment recommendations for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, heart failure and chronic kidney disease. Special consideration is given to elderly/frail patients and those with obesity. A visual patient assessment tool is provided, and a comprehensive set of prescribing tips is presented for all available classes of glucose-lowering therapies. This position statement will complement the already available, often specialist-focused, T2DM treatment guidelines and provide greater direction in how the wealth of outcome trial data can be applied to everyday practice.

Influence of sociodemographic characteristics on the preferred format of health education delivery in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and or cardiovascular disease: a questionnaire study.

AIM: To examine the influence of sociodemographic factors of interest on preference for a particular health education format among people with type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to collect information on the influence of six sociodemographic factors of interest on the preference for health education formats in people with type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. Chi-squared tests were used to examine the distribution of preferences between groups. The characteristics of the population preferring the online format were then examined in more detail using logistic regression. RESULTS: Responses were received from 1559 participants. Overall the preferred health education format was one-to-one learning from a doctor or nurse (67%). Age, gender, diagnosis and educational level all affected the preferences expressed. The characteristics showing most consistent and significant influence were age and educational level. Overall, 29% ranked the online format highly (scores 1 or 2). This group were more likely to be aged < 65 years (P < 0.001) and to have a higher level of educational attainment (upper secondary education or higher; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences between sociodemographic groups exist in preferences for health education formats among people with type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. Preferences should be considered when designing educational interventions to ensure they are accessible to the target group and to avoid increases in health inequality.

Comparison of Myoelectric Activity During a Suspension-Based and Traditional Split Squat.

Miller, WM, Barnes, JT, Sofo, SS, and Wagganer, JD. Comparison of myoelectric activity during a suspension-based and traditional split squat. J Strength Cond Res 33(12): 3236-3241, 2019-Over several decades, traditional resistance training has incorporated body-mass suspension training (SPT), for example, Total-Body Resistance Exercise (TRX); however, very little research has been completed investigating the effects of lower body SPT. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess sex differences in myoelectric activity via electromyography while performing a stable (i.e., bench) traditional split squat (TSS) compared with suspension body-mass split squat (TRXSS). Nineteen recreationally active individuals (mean ± SD = men: n = 9; 21.4 ± 2.1 years; 177.2 ± 9.0 cm; 84.2 ± 8.8 kg; women: n = 10; 21.5 ± 1.6 years; 160.7 ± 8.5 cm; 59.1 ± 7.9 kg) participated in this investigation. Subjects performed 3 training sessions, 1 familiarization and 2 (one for each variation) split squat. The TRXSS was performed by placing the rear foot within the foot cradle of the strap, while the TSS required placement of the rear foot on a stable bench (40.64 cm). The TRXSS resulted in higher peak and average myoelectric activity overall, as well as greater gluteus maximus myoelectric activity. No gender or rectus femoris myoelectric activity differences were found. The increased myoelectric activity of the gluteus maximus during the TRXSS was most likely due to increased medial/lateral stabilization demands on the suspended leg. These findings provide insight into TRX as a useful exercise modality for recreationally active or rehabilitative purposes.

Comorbid depression and risk of cardiac events and cardiac mortality in people with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of comorbid occurrence of diabetes and depression with risk of cardiovascular endpoints including cardiovascular mortality, coronary heart disease and stroke. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A systematic review and metaanalysis. We searched PUBMED/MEDLINE, Medscape, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE and Scopus databases assessing cardiac events and mortality associated with depression in diabetes up until 1 December 2018. Pooled hazard ratios were calculated using random- effects models. RESULTS: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The combined pooled hazard ratios showed a significant association of cardiac events in people with depression and type 2 diabetes, compared to those with type 2 diabetes alone. For cardiovascular mortality the pooled hazard ratio was 1.48 (95% CI: 1.185, 1.845), p = 0.001, for coronary heart disease 1.37 (1.165, 1.605), p < 0.001 and for stroke 1.33 (1.291, 1.369), p < 0.001. Heterogeneity was high in the meta-analysis for stroke events (I-squared = 84.7%) but was lower for coronary heart disease and cardiovascular mortality (15% and 43.4% respectively). Meta-regression analyses showed that depression was not significantly associated with the study level covariates mean age, duration of diabetes, length of follow-up, BMI, sex and ethnicity (p < 0.05 for all models). Only three studies were found that examined the association of depression in type 1 diabetes, there was a high degree of heterogeneity and data synthesis was not conducted for these studies. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated a 47.9% increase in cardiovascular mortality, 36.8% increase in coronary heart disease and 32.9% increase in stroke in people with diabetes and comorbid depression. The presence of depression in a person with diabetes should trigger the consideration of evidence-based therapies for cardiovascular disease prevention irrespective of the baseline risk of cardiovascular disease or duration of diabetes.

Case Report of Three Immature Cystic Teratomas in Northern Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative diagnosis of immature cystic teratoma can be challenging for clinicians. In this report, we present three cases. METHODS: We describe three women aged 10, 20, and 23 years, respectively, who presented with abdominal masses which were diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound as mature cystic teratomas. All women had emergency laparotomy and oophorectomy. RESULTS: Histopathological examination reported these ovarian tumours to be immature cystic teratomas. This case report also provided a brief summary of the clinicopathological features of all ovarian teratomas diagnosed in two centres during the period of review. CONCLUSION: Immature ovarian teratoma affects primarily younger patients; it is important for clinicians to have a high sense of suspicion whenever the diagnosis of a germ cell tumour is entertained.

Factors influencing safe glucose-lowering in older adults with type 2 diabetes: A PeRsOn-centred ApproaCh To IndiVidualisEd (PROACTIVE) Glycemic Goals for older people: A position statement of Primary Care Diabetes Europe.

Diabetes in later life is associated with a range of factors increasing the complexity of glycaemic management. This position statement, developed from an extensive literature review of the subject area, represents a consensus opinion of primary care clinicians and diabetes specialists. It highlights many challenges facing older people living with type 2 diabetes and aims to support primary care clinicians in advocating a comprehensive, holistic approach. It emphasises the importance of the wishes of the individual and their carers when determining glycaemic goals, as well as the need to balance intended benefits of treatment against the risk of adverse treatment effects. Its ultimate aim is to promote consistent high-quality care for older people with diabetes.

Cardiovascular efficacy and safety of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

AIMS: To compare the cardiovascular efficacy and safety of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) in adults with Type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched from inception to 22 October 2018 for randomized controlled trials designed to assess the cardiovascular efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors or GLP-1RAs with regard to a three-point composite measure of major adverse cardiovascular events (non-fatal stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality). Cardiovascular and safety data were synthesized using Bayesian network meta-analyses. RESULTS: Eight trials, including 60 082 participants, were deemed eligible for the network meta-analysis. Both SGLT2 inhibitors [hazard ratio 0.86 (95% credible interval 0.74, 1.01]) and GLP-1RAs [hazard ratio 0.88 (95% credible interval 0.78, 0.98)] reduced the three-point composite measure compared to placebo, with no evidence of differences between them [GLP-1RAs vs SGLT2 inhibitors: hazard ratio 1.02 (95% credible interval 0.83, 1.23)]. SGLT2 inhibitors reduced risk of hospital admission for heart failure compared to placebo [hazard ratio 0.67 (95% credible interval 0.53, 0.85)] and GLP-1RAs [hazard ratio 0.71 (95% credible interval 0.53, 0.93)]. No differences were found between the two drug classes in non-fatal stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction, cardiovascular mortality, all-cause mortality or safety outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1RAs reduced the three-point major adverse cardiovascular event risk compared to placebo, with no differences between them. Compared with GLP-1RAs and placebo, SGLT2 inhibitors led to a larger reduction in hospital admission for heart failure risk.

Improving diabetes care among patients with severe mental illness: A systematic review of the effect of interventions.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) who suffer from type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are likely to be sub-optimally treated for their physical condition. This study aimed to review the effect of interventions in this population. METHODS: A systematic search in five databases was conducted in July 2017. RESULTS: Seven studies on multi-faced interventions were included. These comprised nutrition and exercise counselling, behavioural modelling and increased disease awareness aiming to reduce HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, body mass index and weight. CONCLUSION: Non-pharmacologic interventions in individuals with SMI and T2DM could possibly improve measures of diabetes care, although with limited clinical impact.

Older people with Type 2 diabetes, including those with chronic kidney disease or dementia, are commonly overtreated with sulfonylurea or insulin therapies.

AIM: To evaluate potential overtreatment with sulfonylurea and insulin therapies amongst older people with Type 2 diabetes, including those with chronic kidney disease or dementia. METHODS: Using the ECLIPSE Live software tool, we developed a search to examine data on older people (age ≥ 70 years) with Type 2 diabetes, who were prescribed sulfonylurea or insulin therapies over the previous 90 days. Sixteen Norfolk general practices participated, representing a population of 24 661 older people, including 3862 (15.7%) with Type 2 diabetes. Of these, 1379 (35.7%) people were prescribed sulfonylurea or insulin therapies. Data extracted included age, sex, last recorded HbA1c value, renal function and dementia codes. RESULTS: The median age of the study cohort was 78 years. A total of 644 people (47.8%) had chronic kidney disease (estimated GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m2 ) and 60 people (4.35%) had dementia. The median (interquartile range) HbA1c concentration for the entire cohort was 58 (51-69) mmol/mol [7.5 (6.8-8.5)%], with no difference in median HbA1c between those with or without either chronic kidney disease or dementia. In total, 400 older people (29.9%) had an HbA1c concentration < 53 mmol/mol (7%), of whom 162 (12.1%) had HbA1c < 48 mmol/mol (6.5%). Stratified by prescription for sulfonylurea, insulin or combined insulin and sulfonylurea therapies, 282 (35.2%), 93 (24.2%) and 25 people (16.3%), respectively, had HbA1c < 53 mmol/mol (7.0%). Treatment to an HbA1c target of < 53 mmol/mol (7.0%) was as prevalent in those with chronic kidney disease or dementia as in those without. CONCLUSION: In the present cohort of older people with Type 2 diabetes prescribed sulfonylurea or insulin therapies, overtreatment was common, even in the presence of comorbidities known to increase hypoglycaemia risk.

Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events in diabetes: updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

AIMS: To evaluate the benefits and harms of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality events in people with diabetes by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of aspirin compared with placebo (or no treatment) in people with diabetes with no history of cardiovascular disease were identified from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library and a manual search of bibliographies to November 2015. Study-specific relative risks with 95% CIs were aggregated using random effects models. RESULTS: A total of 10 randomized trials were included in the review. There was a significant reduction in risk of major adverse cardiovascular events: relative risk of 0.90 (95% CI 0.81-0.99) in groups taking aspirin compared with placebo or no treatment. Limited subgroup analyses suggested that the effect of aspirin on major adverse cardiovascular events differed by baseline cardiovascular disease risk, medication compliance and sex (P for interaction for all > 0.05).There was no significant reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular mortality or all-cause mortality. Aspirin significantly reduced the risk of myocardial infarction for a treatment duration of ≤ 5 years. There were differences in the effect of aspirin by dosage and treatment duration on overall stroke outcomes (P for interaction for all < 0.05). There was an increase in risk of major or gastrointestinal bleeding events, but estimates were imprecise and not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The emerging data do not clearly support guidelines that encourage the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults with diabetes who are at increased cardiovascular disease risk.

Evaluating the impact of an enhanced primary care diabetes service on diabetes outcomes: A before-after study.

Diabetes is an ambulatory care-sensitive condition and a high quality primary care or risk factor control can lead to a decrease in the risk of non-elective hospitalisations while ensuring continuity of care with usual primary care teams. AIMS AND METHODS: In this before and after study, eight primary care practices providing a newer enhanced diabetes model of care in Leicester UK, were compared with matched neighbouring practices with comparable demographic features providing a more expensive integrated specialist-community care diabetes service. The primary outcome at twelve months was to demonstrate equivalence in non-elective bed days. The enhanced practices had primary care physicians and nurses with an interest in diabetes who attended monthly diabetes education meetings and provided care plans and audits. The control practices provided an integrated primary-specialist care service. RESULTS: The difference between the mean change in the non-elective bed days from baseline and at follow up in core and enhanced practices was not statistically significant (mean=2.20 per 100 patients, 95% CI=-0.92 to 5.31 per 100 patients, p=0.14). The analogous change for first outpatients' attendance were 0.23 per 100 patients (95% CI=-0.47 to 0.52 per 100 patients p=0.92) and for diabetes related complications admissions was 0.30 per 100 patients (95% CI=-0.85 to 1.45 per 100 patients p=0.55). CONCLUSION: A model of enhanced primary care based diabetes care appears unlikely to increase hospitalisations, outpatients' attendance or admissions for diabetes related complications.

A systematic review of interventions targeting primary care or community based professionals on cardio-metabolic risk factor control in people with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To review the interventions targeting primary care or community based professionals on glycaemic and cardiovascular risk factor control in people with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of interventions targeting primary care or community based professionals on diabetes and cardiovascular risk factor control. We conducted searches in MEDLINE database from inception up to 27th September 2015. We also retrieved articles related to diabetes from the Cochrane EPOC database and EMBASE and scanned bibliographies for key articles. RESULTS: There was heterogeneity in terms of interventions and participants amongst the 30 studies (39,439 patients) that met the inclusion criteria. Nine of the studies focused on general or family practitioners, five on pharmacists, three on nurses and one each on dieticians and community workers. Twelve studies targeted multi-disciplinary teams. Educational interventions did not seem to have a positive impact on HbA1c, systolic blood pressure or lipid profiles. The use of telemedicine, clinician reminders and feedback showed mixed results but there was a level of consistency in improvement in HbA1c when multifaceted interventions on multidisciplinary teams were implemented. Targeting general or family physicians was largely ineffective in improving the cardiovascular risk factors considered, except when using a computer application on insulin handling of type 2 diabetes or customised simulated cases with feedbacks. Similarly, interventions targeting nurses did not improve outcomes compared to standard care. CONCLUSIONS: Multifaceted professional interventions were more effective than single interventions targeting single primary or community care professionals in improving glycaemic control.

Effects of glucose-lowering and multifactorial interventions on cardiovascular and mortality outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

INTRODUCTION: The effect of intensive glycaemic control alone or as part of a multifactorial intervention on cardiovascular and mortality outcomes is not fully understood. In addition, the interaction of duration of diabetes diagnosis on cardiovascular and mortality outcomes is unclear. AIM: To quantify the effect of intensive treatment (i.e. intensive glucose lowering either alone or as part of a multifactorial intervention) on non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), non-fatal stroke, cardiovascular disease (CV) mortality and all-cause mortality in patients with Type 2 diabetes. A secondary objective was to investigate the association between the treatment effect and trial-level characteristics such as average age, duration of Type 2 diabetes, the percentage male and the baseline event rate. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials without language restrictions from inception to 13 May 2015. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated intensive treatment in adult patients with Type 2 diabetes. The review was registered on PROSPERO (registration number 42014013860). We pooled rates across studies using random effects meta-analysis and investigated study-level covariate associations using Bayesian meta-regression. RESULTS: A total of 19 RCTs were included: 16 examined non-fatal MI (n = 79 595), 14 non-fatal stroke (n = 78 568), 18 cardiovascular mortality (n = 83 938) and 18 all-cause mortality (n = 84 266). There was evidence to suggest that compared with standard care, intensive treatment reduced the risk of non-fatal MI [risk ratio (RR) 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83-0.96], but not non-fatal stroke (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.86-1.07), CV mortality (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.90-1.11) or all-cause mortality (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.94-1.06). Compared with standard care, multifactorial interventions alone reduced non-fatal stroke (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.32-0.0.87) but not non-fatal MI (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.38-1.03), CV mortality (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.46-1.14) or all-cause mortality (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.64-1.05). There was no evidence to suggest that the effect of intensive treatment on cardiovascular and mortality outcomes was associated with mean age, mean duration of Type 2 diabetes and percentage of male patients across trials. There was evidence to suggest that the effectiveness of intensive treatment to reduce mortality outcomes increases as the baseline incidence of cardiovascular mortality [ratio of hazard = 0.82, 95% credible interval (CrI) 0.65-0.99] increased across trials, but not baseline incidence of non-fatal MI, non-fatal stroke and all-cause mortality. Intensive glucose-lowering and multifactorial interventions are predicted to have the desired beneficial effect of reducing CVD mortality in populations where the incidence rate is greater than about 6.3 CVD deaths per 1000 person-years or an average 10-year CVD risk of 6.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from non-fatal MIs, there was no evidence that intensive glucose-lowering and multifactorial interventions reduced or increased the risk of cardiovascular and mortality outcomes. Intensive glucose-lowering and multifactorial interventions are likely to be beneficial in populations with a higher baseline incidence of CV mortality, but there was no evidence of an association with the mean duration of Type 2 diabetes. Multifactorial interventions had a much greater impact on non-fatal MI and non-fatal strokes. (PROSPERO registration no.: 42014013860).