Comparative Effectiveness of Oral Hypoglycemic Agents for Glycemic Control and Glycemic Variability in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Using Flash Glucose Monitoring

Abstract

AIM: The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) as monotherapy, dual and quadruple therapy for glycemic control (GC) and glycemic variability (GV) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) using flash glucose monitoring system (FGM). BACKGROUND: Diabetes management largely relies on HbA1c monitoring. Glycemic variability has been an evolving glycemic target for preventing complications related to type 2 diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to compare glycemic control measures and glycemic variability measures among study groups and to study the relationships between GC and GV indices. METHODS: Retrospectively, FGM data were collected from 50 T2DM patients. The patients were classified based on prescribed number of OHAs as monotherapy [group 1: Dipeptidyl peptidase- 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors (n=10), group 2: Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (n=10), group 3: Sulphonylureas (n=10), group 4: Dual therapy (n=10), and group 5: Quadruple therapy (n=10)]. Measures of GC and GV were evaluated. RESULTS: Significant differences between study groups were observed in GC and GV measurements. The SGLT2 inhibitors monotherapy group demonstrated optimal GC [eA1c (%): 6.5 ± 2.2; MBG: 140.80 ± 63.94; TIR: 60.60 ± 19.96] and GV (SD: 42.38 ± 34.57; CV: 27.85 ± 6.68; MAGE: 96.76 ± 52.47; MODD: 33.96 ± 22.91) in comparison to other study groups. On using Pearson correlation analysis, mean blood glucose (MBG) and mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE) showed moderate correlation (r = 0.742)(r(2) = 0.551), depicting distinct glucose variabilities at the same mean blood glucose levels. CONCLUSION: The monotherapy group of SGLT2 inhibitors demonstrated glucose-lowering effects with reduced glycemic variability. Hence, optimum glycemic control is associated with decreased glycemic variability.