Doctors are treating nearly twice as many people for diabetes as in 1994, and new options make the process ever more complicated, according to a survey of 3500 U.S. physicians reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The increase in diabetes visits comes from treating more minorities, more women, and younger patients.
The increase in complexity arises from new drug classes and new combinations. Drugs most commonly prescribed in 2007 (most of them not available in 1994) were
* insulin (glargine and lispro)
* sitagliptin, and
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Many reported prescriptions for these drugs were for off-label uses. Many patients received drugs approved only for additive treatment as monotherapy.
Between 2001 and 2007, the cost of diabetes treatments increased by 87%.
Practical Articles/News
A look in this category delivers a new article from an endocrinology board review manual about what to do when oral antidiabetic therapy fails.
CME
Find two current university-sponsored CME courses about management of type 2 diabetes.
