One in Seven Insulin-Treated Patients in Developing Countries Reported Poor Persistence with Insulin Therapy: Real World Evidence from the Cross-Sectional International Diabetes Management Practices Study (IDMPS)

Introduction Although poor adherence to insulin is widely recognised, periodic discontinuation of insulin may cause more severe hyperglycaemia than poor adherence. We assessed persistence with insulin therapy in patients with type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) in developing countries and the reasons for insulin discontinuation. Methods The International Diabetes Management Practices Study collected real-world data from developing countries in seven waves between 2005 and 2017. In Wave 7 (2016–2017), we asked adult patients with T1D and insulin-treated T2D to report whether they had ever discontinued insulin, the estimated duration of discontinuation and underlying reasons. Results Among 8303 patients recruited from 24 countries by 620 physicians, 4596 were insulin-treated (T1D: 2000; T2D: 2596). In patients with T1D, 14.0% (95% CI: 12.5–15.6) reported having self-discontinued insulin for a median duration of 1.0 month (IQR: 0.5, 3.5). The respective figures in patients with T2D were 13.7% (12.4–15.1) and 2.0 months (IQR: 1.0, 6.0). The main reasons for discontinuation were impact on social life (T1D: 41.0%; T2D: 30.5%), cost of medications and test strips (T1D: 34.4%; T2D: 24.5%), fear of hypoglycaemia (T1D: 26.7%; T2D: 28.0%) and lack of support (T1D: 26.4%; T2D: 25.9%). Other factors included age 1–≤ 5 years). Patients with T1D who did not perform self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) or self-adjust their insulin dosage, and patients with T1D or T2D without glucose meters were less likely to persist with insulin. Nearly 50% of patients who reported poor persistence had HbA 1c > 75 mmol/mol (> 9%) and > 50% of physicians recommended diabetes education programmes to improve treatment persistence. Conclusion In developing countries, poor persistence with insulin is common among insulin-treated patients, supporting calls for urgent actions to ensure easy access to insulin, tools for SMBG and education. Graphical Abstract