Prevalence and Incidence of Medication-Treated Diabetes and Pattern
                    of Glucose-Lowering Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Real-World Data from
                    the Electronic Greek Prescription Database

C. Siafarikas; G. Karamanakos; K. Makrilakis; A. Tsolakidis; K. Mathioudakis; S. Liatis

doi:10.1055/a-2307-4631

Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes, Table of Contents

Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2024; 132(09): 515-521
DOI: 10.1055/a-2307-4631

Article

Prevalence and Incidence of Medication-Treated Diabetes and Pattern of Glucose-Lowering Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Real-World Data from the Electronic Greek Prescription Database

C. Siafarikas

¹First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Greece

,

G. Karamanakos

¹First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Greece

,

K. Makrilakis

¹First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Greece

,

A. Tsolakidis

²e-Government Center for Social Security Services (IDIKA), Athens, Greece

,

K. Mathioudakis

²e-Government Center for Social Security Services (IDIKA), Athens, Greece

,

S. Liatis

¹First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Greece

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and incidence of medication-treated diabetes mellitus and the evolving patterns of glucose-lowering treatments the year before and during the first two years of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods Data from the Greek electronic prescription database were analyzed for 2019, 2020, and 2021. The study population included individuals with active social security numbers. Prevalence and incidence rates were calculated based on the dispensing of glucose-lowering medications according to their unique anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) code.

Results The study population comprised 10,289,140 individuals in 2019, 10,630,726 in 2020, and 11,246,136 in 2021. Diabetes prevalence rates were 8.06%, 6.89%, and 7.91%, and incidence rates were 16.8/1000, 8.6/1000, and 13.4/1000 individuals, respectively. Metformin was the most prescribed medication, and newer classes, like sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists exhibited increasing trends.

Conclusions The study identified a decrease in medication-prescribed diabetes prevalence and incidence during the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic, attributed to healthcare access restrictions. Subsequently, figures returned close to baseline levels. Glucose-lowering medication trends reflected adherence to local and international guidelines, with metformin as the cornerstone, and increasing preference for newer classes such as GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors.

Keywords

diabetes mellitus - prevalence - incidence - treatment - COVID-19 infection

Full Text

References

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