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Jetty A Overbeek,1,2 Giel Nijpels,2 Karin MA Swart,1,2 Marieke T Blom,2,3 Petra JM Elders,2,3 Ron MC Herings1,4 1PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Amsterdam UMC, Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of General Practice, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 3Amsterdam Public Health, Health Behaviors & Chronic Diseases, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam, NetherlandsCorrespondence: Jetty A Overbeek, Email jetty.overbeek@pharmo.nlAims/Hypothesis: Only a few studies reported the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Understanding recent trends in diabetes is vital for planning future diabetes care. This study updated national trends in the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the Netherlands from 2004– 2020.Methods: The DIAbetes, MANagement and Treatment (DIAMANT) cohort was used. A cross-sectional design with yearly measurements for the study period was used. The prevalence was calculated by dividing the total number of people with T2D by the total number of all residents. The incidence was calculated by dividing new cases of T2D by the resident population at risk during the calendar year of interest.Results: Among men, the prevalence of T2D in the Netherlands increased from 2.3% in 2004 to 6.3% in 2020. Women’s prevalence increased from 2.3% in 2004 to 5.3% in 2020. During 2005– 2009, the incidence rate for both men and women was relatively stable Between 2010 and 2020, the incidence rate fell about 1.5 per 1000 in both men and women.Conclusion: From 2004– 2020, the prevalence of T2D in the Netherlands more than doubled, with a decreasing incidence from 2010 onwards.Plain Language Summary: Research in contextWhat is already known about this subject?Many studies have reported the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, only a few studies reported the incidence.In a recent systematic review of all these studies, the incidence fell in over a third of the most high-income populations and increased in a minority of populations. Data from the Netherlands were included, but they date back to 1996.Understanding recent trends in diabetes, the prevalence and incidence are vital for planning future diabetes care.What is the key question?To update national trends in the prevalence and incidence of T2D in the Netherlands for 2004-2020.What are the new findings?During 2004-2020, the prevalence of T2D in the Netherlands more than doubled, with a decreasing incidence from 2010 onwards.How might this impact on clinical practice in the foreseeable future?It demonstrates the effectiveness of preventive strategies, public health education and awareness campaigns contributing to this trend.Keywords: type 2 diabetes, prevalence, incidence, epidemiology

Jetty A Overbeek, Karin MA Swart, Eline Houben, Fernie JA Penning-van Beest, Ron MC Herings Department Research, PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Utrecht, the NetherlandsCorrespondence: Jetty A Overbeek, Department Research, PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Van Deventerlaan 30-40, Utrecht, 3528 AE, the Netherlands, Tel +3130 7440 800, Email jetty.overbeek@pharmo.nlPurpose: When using incomplete or non-representative real-world data (RWD), bias is more likely to occur. The aim of the current study was to assess the completeness and representativeness of the PHARMO GP data for the Dutch population.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. The PHARMO GP data comprise data from electronic health records registered by GPs. Data on the Dutch population were obtained from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), which offers publicly available data on several themes. The standardized difference (std.diff) was used to compare proportions between the PHARMO GP population and the Dutch population. An absolute std.diff > 0.2 was considered a difference.Results: On January 1st, 2018, 3,466,321 persons were included in the PHARMO GP data (mean age: 41.6 years, 49.7% males). The sex and age distribution was similar to the Dutch population. The PHARMO GP data captured less not urbanized areas compared to the Dutch population (not urbanized areas: 9.4% vs 17.1% [std.diff: − 0.23]). Regarding medication use, only the pharmacological subgroups “viral vaccines” and “hormonal contraceptives for systemic use” differed (std.diff > 0.2); use in the GP data was more complete than in the Statistics Netherlands (CBS) data. No differences were observed regarding diagnoses.Conclusion: The PHARMO GP data are representative of the Dutch population with regard to the demographic characteristics and diagnoses in primary care. Medication data in the PHARMO GP data are more complete than national statistics, and differences are related to reimbursement. Use of the data and interpretation of results based on these sources should be done with experts on the data sources, the Dutch healthcare system and (pharmaco)epidemiology.Keywords: data quality, completeness, representativeness, RWD, real-world evidence, PHARMO GP data

Jetty A Overbeek,1– 3 Karin MA Swart,1– 3 Emma YM van der Pal,2,3 Marieke T Blom,2,3 Joline WJ Beulens,3– 5 Giel Nijpels,2,3 Petra JM Elders,2,3 Ron MC Herings1,3,4 1Department Research, PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Department of General Practice, Amsterdam UMC - Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 3Health Behaviors & Chronic Diseases, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC - Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 5Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, NetherlandsCorrespondence: Jetty A Overbeek, Department Research, PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Van Deventerlaan 30-40, Utrecht, 3528 AE, Netherlands, Tel +3130 7440 800, Email jetty.overbeek@pharmo.nlIntroduction: The increasing number of people with diabetes and the unclear long-term safety and effectiveness of newer and older blood-glucose-lowering treatments emphasize the need for more pharmaco-epidemiological studies in this field. A prospective, regularly updated cohort of people with diabetes would provide quick and up-to-date information regarding prevalence, treatment, safety and effectiveness. The current aim was to describe the design of the DIAbetes MANagement and Treatment (DIAMANT) cohort.Methods: The DIAMANT cohort is a population-based, dynamic, prospective cohort of persons with diabetes. It contains real-world data (RWD) from general practitioners (GP), including diagnoses, symptoms, examinations, communication to/from specialists and medication. Diabetes is defined as a recorded diabetes diagnosis or a prescription of drugs used in diabetes. The cohort is part of the national infrastructure of “Stichting Informatievoorziening voor Zorg en Onderzoek” (STIZON) and is linked to other data sources.Results: Currently, the cohort enables access to information of 89,883 patients in 2004 to 344,914 in 2020 (6% T1D, 84% T2D and 10% unclassified type of diabetes), with 193,931 participants still registered as being present in the GP practice (active) in 2020. The frequency of follow-up of persons with diabetes is practice dependent. The Dutch guidelines advise 2– 4 contacts per year with a more extensive yearly check-up. The DIAMANT cohort is updated several times a year. Anonymised data from the DIAMANT cohort are available to researchers.Discussion: The DIAMANT cohort provides the opportunity to gain RWD insights into the treatment and outcomes among people with diabetes in daily general practice. The data can be enriched by established linkages to other data sources (eg, hospital data, the Perinatal Registry, the Cancer Registry). The DIAMANT cohort serves as a start of a national infrastructure to study, manage and provide personalised care in order to ultimately improve care and outcomes for people with diabetes.Keywords: diabetes, type 2 diabetes, epidemiology, follow-up, prospective cohort, real-world data

Josephina G Kuiper,1,2 Marina Bakker,1 Fernie JA Penning-van Beest,1 Ron MC Herings1,3 1Department Research, PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 2Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 3Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsCorrespondence: Josephina G Kuiper Tel +31 30 7440 800Email josine.kuiper@pharmo.nlAbstract: The PHARMO Database Network provides a unique opportunity to gain insight in the complete patient journey and healthcare in the Netherlands. The PHARMO Database Network is a population-based network of electronic healthcare databases and combines anonymous data from different primary and secondary healthcare settings in the Netherlands. Healthcare settings include general practitioners, out-patient and in-patient pharmacies, hospitals and clinical laboratories. Furthermore, databases are linked with external registries such as the Cancer Registry, Pathology Registry and Perinatal Registry. The different data sources are linked on a patient level through probabilistic linkage based on validated algorithms. The longitudinal and ongoing nature of the PHARMO Database Network system enables to follow up more than 10 million residents of the Netherlands for an average of 12 years. Data collection period, catchment area and overlap between data sources differ. Access to the PHARMO Database Network is, by governance regulations of the data collection, restricted to researchers of the PHARMO Institute and academic affiliates. Each data request is checked against privacy and company policies, and requires approval of the privacy and governance board. The terms and conditions and a data application form are available on the PHARMO website (www.pharmo.com).Keywords: database, record linkage, pharmacoepidemiology, observational research, electronic health record, Netherlands