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Roberto G, Barone-Adesi F, Giorgianni F, Pizzimenti V, Ferrajolo C, Tari M, Bartolini C, Da Cas R, Maggini M, Spila-Alegiani S, Francesconi P, Trifirò G, Poluzzi E, Baccetti F, Gini R. Patterns and trends of utilization of incretin-based medicines between 2008 and 2014 in three Italian geographic areas. BMC Endocr Disord 2019; 19:18. [PMID: 30732592 PMCID: PMC6367760 DOI: 10.1186/s12902-019-0334-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The incretin-based medicines GLP1 analogues (GLP1a) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) are hypoglycaemic agents licensed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although these drugs possess comparable efficacy and low risk of hypoglycaemia, differences in terms of route of administration (subcutaneous versus oral), effect on body weight and gastrointestinal tolerabily can impact their actual use in clinical practice. This study aimed to describe the real-world utilization of incretin-based medicines in the Italian clinical practice. METHODS A multi-database, population-based, descriptive, cohort study was performed using administrative data collected between 2008 and 2014 from three Italian geographic areas. Subjects aged ≥18 were selected. New users were defined as those with ≥1 dispensing of GLP1a or DPP4i during the year of interest and none in the past. Trends of cumulative annual incidence of use in the general adult population were observed. New users of GLP1a or DPP4i were respectively described in terms of demographic characteristics and use of antidiabetic drugs during 1 year before and after the first incretin dispensing. RESULTS The overall study population included 4,943,952 subjects. A total of 7357 new users of GLP1a and 41,907 of DPP4i were identified during the study period. Incidence of use increased between 2008 (0.2‰ for both GLP1a and DPP4i) and 2011 (GLP1a = 0.6‰; DPP4i = 2.5‰) and slightly decreased thereafter. In 2014, 61% of new GLP1a users received once-daily liraglutide while 52% of new DPP4i users received metformin/DPP4i in fixed-dose. The percentage of new DPP4i users older than 65 years of age increased from 30.9 to 62.6% during the study period. Around 12% of new users had not received any antidiabetic before starting an incretin. CONCLUSIONS During the study period, DPP4i rapidly became the most prescribed incretin-based medicine, particularly among older new user. The choice of the specific incretin-based medicine at first prescription appeared to be directed towards those with higher convenience of use (e.g. oral DPP4i rather than subcutaneous GLP1a, once-daily liraglutide rather than twice-daily exenatide). The non-negligibile use of incretin-based medicines as first-line pharmacotherapy for T2DM warrants further effectiveness and safety evaluations to better define their place in therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Roberto
- Epidemiology Unit, Agenzia regionale di sanità della Toscana, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Francesco Giorgianni
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Valeria Pizzimenti
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Carmen Ferrajolo
- Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Experimental medicine, Regional Center of Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoepidemiology of Campania, University of Campania, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Claudia Bartolini
- Epidemiology Unit, Agenzia regionale di sanità della Toscana, Florence, Italy
| | - Roberto Da Cas
- National Centre for Drug Research and Evaluation, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Marina Maggini
- National Centre for Drug Research and Evaluation, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Francesconi
- Epidemiology Unit, Agenzia regionale di sanità della Toscana, Florence, Italy
| | - Gianluca Trifirò
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
- Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Elisabetta Poluzzi
- Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University of Bologna, Unit of Pharmacology, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fabio Baccetti
- Unit of DiabetologyLocal, Health Authority of North-West Tuscany, Massa, Italy
| | - Rosa Gini
- Epidemiology Unit, Agenzia regionale di sanità della Toscana, Florence, Italy
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