Clinical outcomes and costs for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus initiating insulin therapy in Greece: Two-year experience from the INSTIGATE study

Abstract Aims To evaluate the quality of metabolic control, clinical outcomes, resource costs, and quality of life among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), who initiated insulin for the first time as part of routine clinical practice. Methods The INSTIGATE study is a prospective, multicentric, observational study of patients initiating insulin treatment. This sub-cohort analysis focuses on Hellenic outcomes. Results At baseline, 263 Greek patients were enrolled just before initiating insulin for the first time. At the 6-month visit, 237 patients (90.1%) remained and consented to an additional 18-month observation period. In these 237 extension patients, over the 24-month post-initiation period, HbA1c (mean(SD)) decreased from 9.7%(1.6%) to 7.1%(0.9%) and body weight and BMI increased (+3(6)kg and +1.1(2.2)kg/m 2 , respectively). At each post-baseline visit approximately one in five patients reported ≥1 episodes of hypoglycaemia in the preceding 3–6 months. Median total costs fluctuated from 438€ at baseline to 538€ up to 6 months and 451€ at 24 months; mean costs were 496(383)€, 573(276)€ and 485(247)€, respectively. Conclusions In this cohort, insulin treatment seems to be effective with little long-term impact on cost. Findings should be interpreted in the context of an observational study.