Addition maintains glycemic control without weight change among patients with T2DM taking metformin
WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Sulfonylureas used as add-on therapy to metformin can maintain glycemic control in type 2 diabetes, without changing body weight, according to a study published online June 6 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.
Dennis Schrijnders, from the Diabetes Center in Zwolle, Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a prospective observational cohort study involving patients with type 2 diabetes, aged 18 years and older. Participants had received metformin as monotherapy for at least one year before receiving dual therapy by the addition of a sulfonylurea for one year or more. During five years of follow-up, the within-drug yearly change in body weight after receiving add-on therapy with individual sulfonylureas was assessed. Data were included for 2,958 patients.
The researchers observed no significant weight changes within and between any of the individual sulfonylureas after intensification of treatment (P = 0.24). No significant difference in weight was seen between the add-on therapy combinations (P = 0.26). The year before intensification, the average glycated hemoglobin was 7.2 percent, and dropped to below 7.0 percent the year after intensification.
“In patients with type 2 diabetes treated in primary care, strict glycemic control can be maintained with sulfonylureas used as add-on therapy to metformin, without the offset of relevant weight changes,” the authors write.
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