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Huberta E Hart,1,2,* Kim Ditzel,1,* Guy E Rutten,1 Esther de Groot,1 Samuel Seidu,3 Kamlesh Khunti,3 Rimke C Vos1,4 1Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; 2Leidsche Rijn Julius Health Centers, Utrecht, The Netherlands; 3Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK; 4Department of Public Health and Primary Care/lumc-Campus the Hague, Leiden University Medical Center, The Hague, The Netherlands*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Huberta E HartJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Erasmuslaan 68, Zeist 3707 ZE, The NetherlandsTel +31 6 1695 0844Email h.e.hart@umcutrecht.nlAim: To evaluate if, one year after notification of possible overtreatment, diabetes care providers de-intensified glucose-lowering medications and to gain insight into the opinions and beliefs of both care providers and patients regarding de-intensification.Methods: Mixed methods using routine care data from five health-care centres in the Netherlands. Patient characteristics and medication prescription of patients, previously identified as possibly over-treated, were extracted from patients’ medical records. Opinions of care providers were obtained through interviews. Patients received questionnaires about their diabetes treatment and were asked to participate in focus groups.Results: A total of 64 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes were previously identified as possibly over-treated and included; 57.8% male, median age 75 years (IQR=72–82), median diabetes duration 12 years (IQR=8–18). De-intensification was implemented in more than half (n=36) of them. Care providers preferred person-centred care above just setting general HbA1c target values, considering patient characteristics (such as comorbidity) and patient’s preference. Patients valued glucose levels as most important in determining their treatment. Both patients and care providers felt that de-intensification should occur gradually.Conclusion: Treatment had been de-intensified in more than half of the patients (56.3%). Insight in reasons for not de-intensifying elderly patients is important since treatment for them can be “person-centred care”. De-intensification is an iterative and time-intensive process.Keywords: elderly, overtreatment, hypoglycaemia, insulin therapy, primary care, type 2 diabetes

Marjo JE Campmans-Kuijpers,1 Lidwien C Lemmens,2 Caroline A Baan,2 Guy EHM Rutten1 1Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, 2Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Utrecht, the Netherlands Background: More focus on patient-centeredness in care for patients with type 2 diabetes requests increasing attention to diabetes quality management processes on patient-centeredness by managers in primary care groups and outpatient clinics. Although patient-centered care is ultimately determined by the quality of interactions between patients and clinicians at the practice level, it should be facilitated at organizational level too. This nationwide study aimed to assess the state of diabetes quality management on patient-centeredness at organizational level and its possibilities to improve after a tailored intervention.Methods: This before–after study compares the quality management on patient-centeredness within Dutch diabetes care groups and outpatient clinics before and after a 1-year stepwise intervention. At baseline, managers of 51 diabetes primary care groups and 28 outpatient diabetes clinics completed a questionnaire about the organization’s quality management program. Patient-centeredness (0%–100%) was operationalized in six subdomains: facilitating self-management support, individualized care plan support, patients’ access to medical files, patient education policy, safeguarding patients’ interests, and formal patient involvement. The intervention consisted of feedback and benchmark and if requested a telephone call and/or a consultancy visit. After 1 year, the managers completed the questionnaire again. The 1-year changes were examined by dependent (non) parametric tests.Results: Care groups improved significantly on patient-centeredness (from 47.1% to 53.3%; P=0.002), and on its subdomains “access to medical files” (from 42.0% to 49.4%), and “safeguarding patients’ interests” (from 58.1% to 66.2%). Outpatient clinics, which scored higher at baseline (66.7%) than care groups, did not improve on patient-centeredness (65.6%: P=0.54) or its subdomains. “Formal patient involvement” remained low in both care groups (23.2%) and outpatient clinics (33.9%).Conclusion: After a simple intervention, care groups significantly improved their quality management on patient-centeredness, but outpatient clinics did not. Interventions to improve quality management on patient-centeredness in diabetes care organizations should differ between primary and secondary care. Keywords: diabetes care, patient-centeredness, patient centered, quality management, patient involvement, self-management support

Merel M Ruissen,1– 3 Jacob K Sont,2 Heidi A van Vugt,4,5 Marleen Kunneman,2,3 Guy EHM Rutten,4 Eelco JP de Koning1 1Department of Medicine, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands; 2Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Section of Medical Decision Making, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands; 3Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 4Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Department of General Practice, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 5Dutch Diabetes Federation, Amersfoort, the NetherlandsCorrespondence: Eelco JP de Koning, Department of Medicine, Leiden University Medical Centre, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, the Netherlands, Tel +31 71 52 62085, Fax +31 71 52 66881, Email e.j.p.de_koning@lumc.nlPurpose: Understanding which factors are important for healthcare decisions of patients with diabetes in clinical practice is important to personalise diabetes care strategies and tailor care plans to the individual. The main drivers for these healthcare decisions remain unclear. This study assessed which key factors are relevant for healthcare decisions during clinical consultations for patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), according to healthcare professionals.Materials and Methods: Annual diabetes reviews were performed as part of a trial assessing the impact of a consultation model facilitating person-centred diabetes care in six hospital outpatient clinics. After each consultation, we asked healthcare professionals to choose a maximum of three out of 20 factors that were most relevant for healthcare decisions about treatment goals and the professional support needed during the upcoming year. Factors were characterised as either person or disease-related. Percentages reflect the number of annual diabetes reviews in which the key factor was reported.Results: Seventeen physicians and eight diabetes specialist nurses reported the key factors relevant for healthcare decisions in 285 annual diabetes reviews (T1DM n = 119, T2DM n = 166). Healthcare professionals most often reported quality of life (31.9%), motivation (27.0%) and diabetes self-management (25.6%), and to a lesser extent glycaemic control (24.2%), to be important for decisions about treatment goals. For decisions about the professional support needed during the upcoming year patient’s preferences (33.7%), diabetes self-management (33.3%), quality of life (27.0%) and motivation (25.6%) were most often considered relevant by healthcare professionals.Conclusion: According to healthcare professionals, person-related factors such as quality of life, diabetes self-management and motivation are predominantly relevant for healthcare decisions about treatment goals and the professional support needed during the upcoming year.Keywords: diabetes mellitus, person-centred, preferences, shared decision making

Heidi A van Vugt,1,2,* Anne Meike Boels,1,* Inge de Weerdt,2 Eelco JP de Koning,3 Guy EHM Rutten1 1Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3508 GA Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 2Dutch Diabetes Federation, Amersfoort 3818 LE, the Netherlands; 3Department of Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, the Netherlands *These authors contributed equally to this work Aim: This study explored the relationship between insulin use and patient activation (a person’s internal readiness and capabilities to undertake health-promoting actions) in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and aimed to identify demographic, clinical and psychosocial factors involved in patient activation.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, baseline data from a Dutch nationwide study were analyzed. Patient activation was assessed with the Patient Activation Measure 13. A linear mixed model was used to take clustering into account.Results: In total, 1,189 persons were included (310 of whom were on insulin), enrolled via 47 general practices and six hospitals. Their mean Patient Activation Measure 13 score was 59±12. We found no association between insulin therapy and patient activation. In the multivariable analysis, individuals with a better health status, very good or very poor social support (vs good social support), individuals who felt they had greater control over their illness and those with a better subjective understanding of their illness showed higher patient activation. Individuals with a lower educational level and those who expected their illness to continue showed a lower activation level.Conclusion: Patient activation does not differ between individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus on insulin therapy and those on other therapies.Keywords: provider–patient communication, patient participation in health care, social support, patient activation, insulin therapy, psychological aspects, self-management

Context A recent overview of all CVD models applicable to diabetes patients is not available. Objective To review the primary prevention studies that focused on the development, validation and impact assessment of a cardiovascular risk model, scores or rules that can be applied to patients with type 2 diabetes. Design Systematic review. Data sources Medline was searched from 1966 to 1 April 2011. Study selection A study was eligible when it described the development, validation or impact assessment of a model that was constructed to predict the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes, or when the model was designed for use in the general population but included diabetes as a predictor. Data extraction A standardized form was sued to extract all data of the CVD models. Results 45 prediction models were identified, of which 12 were specifically developed for patients with type 2 diabetes. Only 31% of the risk scores has been externally validated in a diabetes population, with an area under the curve ranging from 0.61 to 0.86 and 0.59 to 0.80 for models developed in a diabetes population and in the general population, respectively. Only one risk score has been studied for its effect on patient management and outcomes. 10% of the risk scores are advocated in national diabetes guidelines. Conclusion Many cardiovascular risk scores are available that can be applied to patients with type 2 diabetes. A minority of these risk scores has been validated and tested for its predictive accuracy, with only a few showing a discriminative value of >=0.80. The impact of applying these risk scores in clinical practice is almost completely unknown, but their use is recommended in various national guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with diabetes have an elevated risk of developing complicated lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). However, up until now, GPs have not had the tools to assess individual risks.Aim: To assess the applicability of an existing prediction rule for complicated LRTI among patients with diabetes.Design Of Study: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: The Utrecht GP Research Network.Method: An existing rule that was used estimates the risk of 30-day hospitalisation or death following an episode of LRTI. Predictors were exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or pneumonia, increasing age, heart failure, number of hospitalisations in the previous year, use of antibiotics in the previous month, diabetes medication, and prednisone use. Discriminative capacity of the rule was estimated in patients with diabetes. Other potential predictors from the original study were examined, to test for a potentially improved model.Results: Of 445 episodes of LRTI in patients with diabetes, 68 had an outcome of hospitalisation or death within 30 days of diagnosis of LRTI (15.3%). Results showed good reliability of the model (goodness of fit test P=0.16) and discriminative properties (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.79, 95% confidence interval=0.73 to 0.86). No other predictors could be added. Patients with a lower-risk assignment (scoreor=7) had a probability of 36.6% for the composite endpoint of hospitalisation or death within 30 days of diagnosis of LRTI.Conclusion: The use of a prediction rule may help GPs to assess the risk of hospitalisation or death in patients with diabetes who have an episode of LRTI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the short-term effects of an educational program on (determinants of) self-reported health-seeking behavior for infections of the urinary tract (UTIs) and lower respiratory tract (LRTIs) in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 1,124 patients with type 2 diabetes aged between 44 and 85 years participated. The intervention consisted of a multifaceted educational program with an interactive meeting, a leaflet, a Web site, and a consultation with the diabetes care provider. The program focused on the needs of patients, apparent from a prior focus group and questionnaire study. The primary outcome measure was an indicator of health-seeking behavior for UTIs and LRTIs, defined as the proportion of participants with a positive score on at least seven of nine determinants, six from the Health Belief Model and the additional three domains of knowledge, need for information, and intention. The primary outcome was measured with questionnaires at baseline and after 5 months. RESULTS: Complete outcome data were available for 468 intervention group patients and 472 control group patients. In all, 68% of the intervention group patients attended the meeting. At baseline, 28% of the participants from the intervention group had a positive score on seven of the nine determinants, compared with 27% from the control group. After the educational program, these percentages were 53 and 32%, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our educational program positively influenced determinants of health-seeking behavior for common infections in patients with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate how time since diagnosis and treatment intensity influence psychological outcomes in patients with screen-detected type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A 2 x 2 factorial cross-sectional design was used to examine psychological outcomes in 196 patients with screen-detected diabetes diagnosed 3-33 months previously who were receiving usual care or intensive multifactorial pharmacological treatment. Outcomes included anxiety, depression, diabetes-related distress, perceived seriousness and vulnerability, self-efficacy, and self-care. Multivariate analysis was used to examine variations in outcomes based on time since diagnosis (<1 vs. 2-3 years) and treatment intensity. RESULTS: Most patients reported little distress, low perceived seriousness and vulnerability, high self-efficacy, and low self-care, but outcomes varied considerably across conditions. Time effects were found for perceived vulnerability, which increases significantly with time since diagnosis. Time x treatment interactions were found for anxiety, diabetes-related distress, and self-efficacy; notably, intensively treated patients showed more distress and less self-efficacy in the 1st year, and usual-care patients reported more distress and less self-efficacy 2-3 years after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Screen-detected patients generally do not experience much difficulty with their condition in the first few years, but early and intensive treatment can influence patients' psychological outcomes, leading to relatively more anxiety and less self-efficacy in the 1st year after diagnosis but not necessarily improving self-care. This suggests that intensive treatments confront patients with their diabetes earlier on whereas milder treatments may delay confrontation. This finding should be taken into account in the development and timing of psychological interventions for patients with newly diagnosed diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To review the effects of monotherapy with alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs) for patients with type 2 diabetes, with respect to mortality, morbidity, glycemic control, insulin levels, plasma lipids, body weight, and side effects.Research Design and Methods: We systematically searched the Cochrane Central register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Current Contents, LILACS, databases of ongoing trials, and reference lists, and we contacted experts and manufacturers. Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials of at least 12 weeks' duration, AGI monotherapy compared with any intervention, and one of the following outcome measures: mortality, morbidity, GHb, blood glucose, lipids, insulin levels, body weight, or side effects. Two independent reviewers assessed all abstracts, extracted all data, and assessed quality. We contacted all authors for data clarification. Continuous data were expressed as weighted mean differences and analyzed with a random-effects model. Possible influences of study characteristics and quality were assessed in sensitivity and meta-regression analyses.Results: Forty-one studies were included in the review (30 acarbose, 7 miglitol, 1 voglibose, and 3 combined), and heterogeneity was limited. We found no evidence for an effect on mortality or morbidity. Compared with placebo, AGIs had a beneficial effect on GHb (acarbose -0.77%; miglitol -0.68%), fasting and postload blood glucose and postload insulin. With acarbose dosages higher than 50 mg t.i.d., the effect on GHb was the same, but the occurrence of side effects increased. Acarbose decreased the BMI by 0.17 kg/m2 (95% CI 0.08-0.26). None of the AGIs had an effect on plasma lipids. Compared with sulfonylurea, AGIs seemed inferior with respect to glycemic control, but they reduced fasting and postload insulin levels. For comparisons with other agents, little data were available.Conclusions: We found no evidence for an effect on mortality or morbidity. AGIs have clear beneficial effects on glycemic control and postload insulin levels but not on plasma lipids. There is no need for dosages higher than 50 mg acarbose t.i.d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract There is increasing evidence that sedentary behaviour is in itself a health risk, regardless of the daily amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Therefore, sedentary behaviour should be targeted as important health behaviour. It is known that even relatively small changes of health behaviour often require serious efforts from an individual and from people in their environment to become part of their lifestyle. Therefore, interventions to promote healthy behaviours should ideally be simple, easy to perform and easily available. Since sitting is likely to be highly habitual, confrontation with an intervention should almost automatically elicit a reaction of getting up, and thus break up and reduce sitting time. One important prerequisite for successful dissemination of such an intervention could be the use of a recognisable term relating to sedentary behaviour, which should have the characteristics of an effective brand name. To become wide spread, this term may need to meet three criteria: the “Law of the few”, the “Stickiness factor”, and the “Power of context”. For that purpose we introduce STUFF: Stand Up For Fitness. STUFF can be defined as “interrupting long sitting periods by short breaks”, for instance, interrupting sitting every 30 min by standing for at least five minutes. Even though we still need evidence to test the health-enhancing effects of interrupted sitting, we hope that the introduction of STUFF will facilitate the testing of the social, psychological and health effects of interventions to reduce sitting time.

Abstract Background This study describes a strategy to select and isolate spontaneous riboflavin-overproducing strains of Lactobacillus (Lb.) plantarum, Leuconostoc (Lc.) mesenteroides and Propionibacterium (P.) freudenreichii. Results The toxic riboflavin analogue roseoflavin was used to isolate natural riboflavin-overproducing variants of the food grade micro-organisms Lb. plantarum, Lc. mesenteroides and P. freudenreichii strains. The method was successfully employed for strains of all three species. The mutation(s) responsible for the observed overproduction of riboflavin were identified for isolates of two species. Conclusion Selection for spontaneous roseoflavin-resistant mutants was found to be a reliable method to obtain natural riboflavin-overproducing strains of a number of species commonly used in the food industry. This study presents a convenient method for deriving riboflavin-overproducing strains of bacterial starter cultures, which are currently used in the food industry, by a non-recombinant methodology. Use of such starter strains can be exploited to increase the vitamin content in certain food products.

Background: We hypothesize that the prevalence of unknown heart failure in diabetic patients aged 60 years and over is relatively high (15% or more) and that a cost-effective strategy can be developed to detect heart failure in these patients. The strategy is expected to include some signs and symptoms (such as dyspnoea, orthopnoea, pulmonary crepitations and laterally displaced apical beat), natriuretic peptide measurements (Amino-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide) and possibly electrocardiography. In a subset of patients straightforward echocardiography may show to be cost-effective. With information from our study the detection of previously unknown heart failure in diabetic patients could be improved and enable the physician to initiate beneficial morbidity and mortality reducing heart failure treatment more timely.Primary Objectives: - To assess the prevalence of (previously unrecognised) heart failure in primary care patients with diabetes type 2.- To establish the most cost-effective diagnostic strategy to detect unrecognised heart failure in these patients.Secondary Objectives: - To assess the impact of heart failure, and the combination of a new diagnosis with accordingly treatment in patients with diabetes type 2 on health status.Methods/design: Design: A prospective diagnostic efficiency study.Patient Population: Patients aged 60 years and older with diabetes type 2 from primary care, enlisted with the diabetes service of the Diagnostic Center in Etten-Leur (SHL)All participants will be investigated at the cardiology out-patient department of the regional hospital (Oosterschelde Hospital in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands) during a single 1.5 hour standardised diagnostic assessment, including history taking, physical examination, electrocardiography, echocardiography, blood tests, and Health status questionnaires. Patients will be asked if we can contact them afterwards for follow-up and for repeating the questionnaires after three and 12 months.Main study parameters/endpoints: Prevalence (with exact 95% confidence intervals) of (previously unrecognised) heart failure (systolic and 'isolated' diastolic) and the diagnostic value of signs and symptoms, NT-proBNP, electrocardiography and a combination of these items. The cost-effectiveness of different diagnostic strategies. Impact of heart failure and the combination of a new diagnosis with accordingly treatment on health status.Trial Registration: CCMO register NL2271704108. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: To determine whether lower postprandial glucose (PPG) levels after intake of a diabetes-specific formula (DSF) compared with a standard formula were maintained after 4 weeks use. METHODS: Randomized, controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study. Forty-four type 2 diabetes patients on oral anti-diabetes medication consumed 2x200mL/day of a DSF (Diasip((R))) or an isocaloric standard, fiber-containing formula for 4 weeks. PPG responses were assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks by iAUC and (delta) peak glucose concentrations. RESULTS: PPG response was significantly lower in the DSF group after first intake and remained significantly lower after 4 weeks use. Postprandial insulin, fasting glucose, insulin resistance, fructosamine and lipid levels did not differ between groups after 4 weeks. Within the standard group, fasting glucose and HOMA(IR) significantly increased over the intervention period. Changes in body weight between groups were significantly different, with an increase in the standard group. Both products were equally well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Superior PPG control by DSF was maintained after 4 weeks use, showing that this formula has added value with respect to PPG control for type 2 diabetes patients compared to a standard, fiber-containing formula. The observed effects on body weight, fasting glucose and HOMA(IR) may further support the use of a DSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: An appropriate diet is an essential component of the management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). However, for many people with T2DM, self-management is difficult. Therefore, the Beyond Good Intentions (BGI) education program was developed based on self-regulation and proactive coping theories to enhance people's capabilities for self-management. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the BGI program on improving dietary quality among a preselected group of people with T2DM after two-and-a-half years follow-up. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 108 people with T2DM were randomized (1:1) to the intervention ( n = 56) (BGI-program) or control group ( n = 52) (care as usual). Linear regression analyses were used to determine the effect of the BGI program on change in dietary quality between baseline and two-and-a-half years follow-up. In addition, potential effect modification by having a nutritional goal at baseline was evaluated. Multiple imputation ( n = 15 imputations) was performed to account for potential bias due to missing data. Results: According to intention-to-treat analysis, participants in the intervention group showed greater improvements in dietary quality score than participants in the control group (β = 0.71; 95%CI: 0.09; 1.33) after follow-up. Having a nutritional goal at baseline had a moderating effect on the effectiveness of the BGI program on dietary quality ( p -interaction = 0.01), and stratified results showed that the favorable effect of the intervention on dietary quality was stronger for participants without a nutritional goal at baseline (no nutritional goal: β = 1.46; 95%CI: 0.65; 2.27 vs. nutritional goal: β = -0.24; 95%CI: -1.17; 0.69). Conclusions: The BGI program was significantly effective in improving dietary quality among preselected people with T2DM compared to care as usual. This effect was stronger among participants without a nutritional goal at baseline. A possible explanation for this finding is that persons with a nutritional goal at baseline already started improving their dietary intake before the start of the BGI program. Future studies are needed to elucidate the moderating role of goalsetting on the effectiveness of the BGI program., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 van der Velde, Kiefte-de Jong, Rutten and Vos.)

Objectives: To determine at what glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level physicians from eight European countries would initiate insulin in type 2 diabetes, which physician or practice related factors influenced this level and whether physicians would differentiate between a younger uncomplicated patient and an older patient with comorbidities., Design: Cross-sectional study with data from the Guideline Adherence to Enhance Care study., Setting and Participants: 410 physicians from both primary and secondary care from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK., Outcome Measures: Physicians were asked at which HbA1c level they would initiate insulin for a young, uncomplicated patient (vignette 1) and for an older, complicated patient (vignette 2). We evaluated differences in HbA1c levels between physicians from different countries using analysis of variance. To identify physician and practice related factors associated with HbA1c level at initiation of insulin, we performed multivariable linear regression. Multiple imputation was used to deal with missing data., Results: In Germany, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK, the HbA1c levels for initiating insulin in vignette 2 (range: 60.0 to 66.0 mmol/mol; 7.6% to 8.2%) were higher than for vignette 1 (range: 57.2 to 64.2 mmol/mol; 7.4% to 8.0%). In multivariable analysis, the HbA1c level at which insulin was initiated only differed between countries (vignette 1): Dutch physicians initiated insulin at a lower HbA1c level compared with Belgium, France and the UK. No physician or practice factors were independently associated with HbA1c level at insulin initiation., Conclusions: When deciding on individualised HbA1c targets for insulin initiation, physicians from five countries took patient's age and comorbidity into account. The HbA1c level at which physicians would initiate insulin therapy differed between countries., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Given that there are indications of overtreatment in older patients with type 2 diabetes in both the United States and Europe, we assessed the level of personalized diabetes treatment for older patients in primary care, focusing on overtreatment. Based on Dutch guidelines individuals aged ≥70 years were classified into 3 glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) treatment target groups: 7% (53 mmol/mol), 7.5% (58 mmol/mol) and 8% (64 mmol/mol). In our cohort of 1002 patients (n = 319 aged ≥70 years), the 165 patients with HbA1c targets >7% had more micro- and macrovascular complications, more often used ≥5 medicines and were more often frail compared with those with an HbA1c target ≤7%. Of these 165 patients, 64 (38.8%) were overtreated; that is, 20% of all people aged ≥70 years. The majority of overtreated people were frail and used ≥5 medicines. Hypoglycaemia occurred in 20.3% of these patients and almost 30% reported accidents involving falls. Personalized treatment in older people with type 2 diabetes is not common practice. A substantial number of older people are overtreated, with probable harmful consequences. To prevent overtreatment, definition of lower HbA1c limits might be helpful., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Chronically ill patients such as people with type 2 diabetes develop perceptions of their illness, which will influence their coping behaviour. Perceptions are formed once a health threat has been recognised. Many people with type 2 diabetes suffer from multimorbidity, for example the combination with cardiovascular disease. Perceptions of one illness may influence perceptions of the other condition. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of an intervention in type 2 diabetes patients with a first acute coronary event on change in illness perceptions and whether this mediates the intervention effect on health status. The current study is a secondary data analysis of a RCT., Methods: Two hundred one participants were randomised (1:1 ratio) to the intervention (n = 101, three home visits) or control group (n = 100). Outcome variables were diabetes and acute coronary event perceptions, assessed with the two separate Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaires (BIPQs); and health status (Euroqol Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS)). The intervention effect was analysed using ANCOVA. Linear regression analyses were used to assess whether illness perceptions mediated the intervention effect on health status., Results: A positive intervention effect was found on the BIPQ diabetes items coherence and treatment control (F = 8.19, p = 0.005; F = 14.01, p < 0.001). No intervention effect was found on the other BIPQ diabetes items consequence, personal control, identity, illness concern and emotional representation. Regarding the acute coronary event, a positive intervention effect on treatment control was found (F = 7.81, p = 0.006). No intervention effect was found on the other items of the acute coronary event BIPQ. Better diabetes coherence was associated with improved health status, whereas perceiving more treatment control was not. The mediating effect of the diabetes perception 'coherence' on health status was not significant., Conclusion: Targeting illness perceptions of people with diabetes after an acute coronary event has no effect on most domains, but can improve the perceived understanding of their diabetes. Discussing perceptions prevents people with type 2 diabetes who recently experienced an acute coronary event from the perception that they will lose control of both their diabetes and the acute coronary event. Illness perceptions of diabetes patients should therefore be discussed in the dynamic period after an acute coronary event., Trial Registration: Nederlands trial register; NTR3076 , Registered September 20 2011.

Background: Many adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) experience a psychosocial burden and mental health problems associated with the disease. Diabetes-related distress (DRD) has distinct effects on self-care behaviours and disease control. Improving DRD in adults with T2DM could enhance psychological well-being, health-related quality of life, self-care abilities and disease control, also reducing depressive symptoms., Objectives: To assess the effects of psychological interventions for diabetes-related distress in adults with T2DM., Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, BASE, WHO ICTRP Search Portal and ClinicalTrials.gov. The date of the last search was December 2014 for BASE and 21 September 2016 for all other databases., Selection Criteria: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects of psychological interventions for DRD in adults (18 years and older) with T2DM. We included trials if they compared different psychological interventions or compared a psychological intervention with usual care. Primary outcomes were DRD, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and adverse events. Secondary outcomes were self-efficacy, glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood pressure, diabetes-related complications, all-cause mortality and socioeconomic effects., Data Collection and Analysis: Two review authors independently identified publications for inclusion and extracted data. We classified interventions according to their focus on emotion, cognition or emotion-cognition. We performed random-effects meta-analyses to compute overall estimates., Main Results: We identified 30 RCTs with 9177 participants. Sixteen trials were parallel two-arm RCTs, and seven were three-arm parallel trials. There were also seven cluster-randomised trials: two had four arms, and the remaining five had two arms. The median duration of the intervention was six months (range 1 week to 24 months), and the median follow-up period was 12 months (range 0 to 12 months). The trials included a wide spectrum of interventions and were both individual- and group-based.A meta-analysis of all psychological interventions combined versus usual care showed no firm effect on DRD (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.07; 95% CI -0.16 to 0.03; P = 0.17; 3315 participants; 12 trials; low-quality evidence), HRQoL (SMD 0.01; 95% CI -0.09 to 0.11; P = 0.87; 1932 participants; 5 trials; low-quality evidence), all-cause mortality (11 per 1000 versus 11 per 1000; risk ratio (RR) 1.01; 95% CI 0.17 to 6.03; P = 0.99; 1376 participants; 3 trials; low-quality evidence) or adverse events (17 per 1000 versus 41 per 1000; RR 2.40; 95% CI 0.78 to 7.39; P = 0.13; 438 participants; 3 trials; low-quality evidence). We saw small beneficial effects on self-efficacy and HbA1c at medium-term follow-up (6 to 12 months): on self-efficacy the SMD was 0.15 (95% CI 0.00 to 0.30; P = 0.05; 2675 participants; 6 trials; low-quality evidence) in favour of psychological interventions; on HbA1c there was a mean difference (MD) of -0.14% (95% CI -0.27 to 0.00; P = 0.05; 3165 participants; 11 trials; low-quality evidence) in favour of psychological interventions. Our included trials did not report diabetes-related complications or socioeconomic effects.Many trials were small and were at high risk of bias for incomplete outcome data as well as possible performance and detection biases in the subjective questionnaire-based outcomes assessment, and some appeared to be at risk of selective reporting. There are four trials awaiting further classification. These are parallel RCTs with cognition-focused and emotion-cognition focused interventions. There are another 18 ongoing trials, likely focusing on emotion-cognition or cognition, assessing interventions such as diabetes self-management support, telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy, stress management and a web application for problem solving in diabetes management. Most of these trials have a community setting and are based in the USA., Authors' Conclusions: Low-quality evidence showed that none of the psychological interventions would improve DRD more than usual care. Low-quality evidence is available for improved self-efficacy and HbA1c after psychological interventions. This means that we are uncertain about the effects of psychological interventions on these outcomes. However, psychological interventions probably have no substantial adverse events compared to usual care. More high-quality research with emotion-focused programmes, in non-US and non-European settings and in low- and middle-income countries, is needed.

Background: It is unclear whether cardiovascular risk factor modification influences the development of renal disease in people with type 2 diabetes identified through screening. We determined predictors of albuminuria 5 years after a diagnosis of screen-detected diabetes within the ADDITION-Europe study, a pragmatic cardiovascular outcome trial of multifactorial cardiovascular risk management., Methods: In 1826 participants with newly diagnosed, screen-detected diabetes without albuminuria, we explored associations between risk of new albuminuria (≥2.5 mg mmol -1 for males and ≥3.5 mg mmol -1 for females) and (1) baseline cardio-metabolic risk factors and (2) changes from baseline to 1 year in systolic blood pressure (ΔSBP) and glycated haemoglobin (ΔHbA 1c ) using logistic regression., Results: Albuminuria developed in 268 (15%) participants; baseline body mass index and active smoking were independently associated with new onset albuminuria in 5 years after detection of diabetes. In a model adjusted for age, gender, baseline HbA 1c and blood pressure, a 1% decrease in HbA 1c and 5-mm Hg decrease in SBP during the first year were independently associated with lower risks of albuminuria (odds ratio), 95% confidence interval: 0.76, 0.62 to 0.91 and 0.94, 0.88 to 1.01, respectively. Further adjustment did not materially change these estimates. There was no interaction between ΔSBP and ΔHbA 1c in relation to albuminuria risk, suggesting likely additive effects on renal microvascular disease., Conclusions: Baseline measurements and changes in HbA 1c and SBP a year after diagnosis of diabetes through screening independently associate with new onset albuminuria 4 years later. Established multifactorial treatment for diabetes applies to cases identified through screening., (Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients experience many psychosocial problems related to their diabetes. These often lead to emotional disorders such as distress, stress, anxiety and depression, resulting in decreased self-care, quality of life and disease control. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief value-based emotion-focused educational programme in adults with T2DM on diabetes-related distress (DRD), depressive symptoms, illness perceptions, quality of life, diabetes self-efficacy, self-care and clinical outcomes., Methods: A cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted in 10 public health clinics in Malaysia, all providing diabetes care according to national clinical practice guidelines. Patients' inclusion criteria: Malay, ≥ 18 years with T2DM for at least 2 years, on regular follow-up with one of three biomarkers HbA1c, systolic blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol sub-optimally controlled, and with a mean 17-item Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS-17) score ≥ 3. The intervention consists of four sessions and one booster over a period of 4 months that provide information and skills to assist patients in having proper perceptions of their T2DM including an understanding of the treatment targets, understanding and managing their emotions and goal-setting. The comparator is an attention-control group with three meetings over a similar period. With an estimated intra-cluster correlation coefficient ρ of 0.015, a cluster size of 20 and 20% non-completion, the trial will need to enroll 198 patients., Primary Outcome: the between groups difference in proportion of patients achieving a mean DDS-17 score < 3 (non-significant distress) at 6 months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes will be the differences in the above mentioned variables between groups., Discussion: We hypothesize that primary and secondary outcomes will improve significantly after the intervention compared to the comparator group. The results of this study can contribute to better care for T2DM patients with DRD., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02730078 . Registered on 29 March 2016, last updated on 4 January 2017.

Background: Little attention has been paid to self-management support of patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Most studies evaluated the addition of self-management support to regular diabetes care, but self-management as an alternative for part of regular diabetes care has hardly been studied. In this study, we offered patients with well-controlled T2DM the opportunity to perform the 3 quarterly monitoring sessions at home using an Internet-based self-management program, resulting in online personalized advice., Objective: The aim of our study was to assess the reach and feasibility of an Internet-based diabetes self-management support program for patients with well-controlled T2DM, addressing both primary care providers' (PCPs) opinions and patients' willingness to participate in such a support program., Methods: PCPs assessed patients' eligibility for Internet-based self-management, and patients were offered the opportunity to participate. Characteristics of eligible and ineligible patients were compared, as well as those of participants and nonparticipants, also with regard to quality of life, treatment satisfaction, and illness perceptions. Multivariate logistic regression models were performed and odds ratios (ORs) calculated with 95% CIs., Results: Almost half (128/282, 45.4%) of the patients with well-controlled T2DM were considered ineligible by their PCPs mainly because of cognitive impairment and language barriers (8.2% and 8.9%). Older patients (OR for each year 1.06, 95% CI 1.03-1.09, P<.001), non-Western European patients (OR 3.64, 95% CI 1.67-7.92, P=.001), and patients with a longer diabetes duration (OR for each year 1.56, 95% CI 1.04-2.34, P=.03) were more often regarded as ineligible. Of the 154 patients considered eligible, 57 (37.0%) consented to participate and 30 (10.6%) started the program. Of 57 participants, 45 returned the 3 questionnaires; 21 of 97 nonparticipants returned the questionnaires. Nonparticipants less often thought that their disease would last their entire life (median 8.0 vs 10.0, P=.03) and they were more satisfied with their current treatment than participants (DTSQ total score 44.0 vs 40.0, P=.05). There was no significant difference in quality of life between the 2 groups., Conclusions: PCPs considered half of their patients with well-controlled T2DM incapable of Internet-based self-management mainly because of cognitive impairment and language barriers; of the selected patients, about 1 out of 3 was willing to participate. Older patients, non-Western European patients, and patients with a higher BMI were less likely to participate. Predominantly, practical issues (such as Internet problems) hindered implementation of the Internet-based self-management program., (©Huberta E Hart, Inge ETM Geilen, Elke de Leeuw, Guy EHM Rutten, Rimke C Vos. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 23.03.2017.)

Aims: We used data from the GUIDANCE Study to determine the care of people with type 2 diabetes according to age and accompanying cardiovascular diseases and to assess indicators of overtreatment of glycaemia., Methods: The GUIDANCE study was a retrospective, cross-sectional study from 2009-2010 based on the records of 7597 people in France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, UK, Ireland and Germany. We analysed the level of metabolic control achieved and blood glucose-lowering medication used in different age groups and in relation to accompanying diseases., Results: 4.459 patients (59.1%) were 65 years or older. Their HbA1c levels were similar to those with <65 years. 44.7% of patients ≥65 years had an HbA1c ≤7% (53 mmol/mol) and were treated with insulin or sulfonylureas, and 27.1% of them had ischaemic heart disease or congestive heart failure. Significantly more patients with heart disease had HbA1c values ≤7% (53 mmol/mol) and were treated more often with insulin or sulfonylureas compared to patients of the same age without heart disease., Conclusions: Most patients were treated according to guidelines valid at the time this large international patient sample was surveyed. Older and younger patients were at a similar level of metabolic control, and almost half of the patients with an age of ≥65 years and treated with insulin or sulfonylurea had HbA1c levels below the target range (≤7%) for younger patients. However, these patients have an increased risk of severe hypoglycaemic events with potentially dangerous complications, particularly in those with cardiovascular diseases.

Aims: To compare the proportion of cardiometabolic well-controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients according to a clearly defined, simple personalised approach, versus the 'one-size-fits-all' approach., Methods: Observational study using routine data of primary care type 2 diabetes patients in the Netherlands. The proportions of patients that reach the targets for HbA1c, systolic blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the two different approaches were compared., Results: Of the 890 patients (54.7% men, mean age 62.7 years), 31.8% were well-controlled according to the individualised approach and 24.8% according to the 'one-size-fits-all' approach. For specific subgroups personalising the treatment led to a 5.2%, 27.3% and 45.6% increase of patients achieving low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HbA1c and systolic blood pressure goals respectively., Conclusions: A clearly defined and relatively simple personalised approach leads to a higher proportion of T2DM patients considered as cardiometabolic well-controlled. This approach may especially be beneficial for patients aged ≥70 years on more than metformin monotherapy (HbA1c) and for patients aged ≥80 years (SBP). Precisely these patients are suggested not to benefit from stricter HbA1c or SBP targets, whereas they may experience more adverse effects (e.g. hypoglycaemia, postural hypotension) when a stricter target value is pursued., (Copyright © 2016 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Many self-management programs have been developed so far. Their effectiveness varies. The program 'Beyond Good Intentions' (BGI) is based on proactive coping and has proven to be (cost-) effective in achieving reductions in BMI and blood pressure in screen-detected type 2 diabetes patients up until nine months follow-up. However, its long-term effectiveness in people already known with diabetes is lacking. In addition, its (cost-) effectiveness might increase if people who are likely not to be benefit from the program are excluded in a valid way. Therefore it was aimed to investigate the long-term effects of the educational program BGI on cardiovascular risk, quality of life and diabetes self-management behaviour in a pre-selected group of patients known with type 2 diabetes up to 5 years., Methods: Randomised controlled trial with 2.5 year follow-up. Adults (≤75 years) with a type 2 diabetes duration between 3 months and 5 years will be included. With the use of a self-management screening tool (SeMaS) their potential barriers of self-management due to depression and/or anxiety will be determined. Based on the results of the SeMaS selection patients will be randomised (1:1) to the BGI-group (n = 53) or the control-group (n = 53). In addition to receiving usual care, patients in the BGI-group will follow the 12-week theory-based self-management program and a booster session a few months thereafter. The control-group will receive care as usual. The primary outcome is change in Body Mass Index after 2.5 years follow-up. Secondary outcomes are HbA1c, lipid profile and systolic blood pressure, (diabetes) quality of life, level of physical activity, dietary intake and medication adherence and proactive coping. Cost-effectiveness will be based on total use of health care resources during the entire study period. Difference between groups in change over time will be analysed according to intention-to-treat analysis., Conclusions: By differentiating between patients who will and those who are likely not to benefit from the educational program, a more (cost-) effective self-management program might be designed, also on the long-run. Trial registration NTR 5330.

Background: Recent decades have seen a constant upward projection in the prevalence of diabetes. Attempts to estimate diabetes prevalence rates based on relatively small population samples quite often result in underestimation. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the Dutch diabetes prevalence estimate of 930 000 for 2013, based on a relatively small sample, still holds true when a larger population is studied using actual prevalence data., Methods: Data were collected from 92 primary care groups, including the total number of people with and without diabetes in 2013. Patients with diabetes were identified using the International Classification of Primary Care codes T90.02 (diabetes mellitus type 2; T2DM), T90.01 (diabetes mellitus type 1) and T90 (diabetes mellitus). Prevalence data were compared with previous estimates made in 2009. Diabetes prevalence was estimated using linear extrapolation., Results: Complete data were available from 67 (73%) care groups, which together provided care for 7 922 403 subjects; 431 396 patients were coded as having diabetes, of whom 406 183 were coded as having T2DM. Based on these results, the extrapolated Dutch diabetes prevalence was 914 387 (5.45%)., Conclusions: The results show that the previous estimate (reported in 2009), which was based on data collected in 2007, resulted in a <2% (~16 000) overestimation in diabetes prevalence in 2013 compared with the analysis presented. These results indicate that no upward adjustment in Dutch diabetes prevalence estimates is necessary. Repeated large-scale monitoring can help develop more accurate prevalence estimates and improve future prevalence predictions., (© 2015 Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: It is unclear whether people with type 2 diabetes mellitus on insulin monotherapy who do not achieve adequate glycaemic control should continue insulin as monotherapy or can benefit from adding oral glucose-lowering agents to the insulin therapy., Objectives: To assess the effects of insulin monotherapy compared with the addition of oral glucose-lowering agents to insulin monotherapy for people with type 2 diabetes already on insulin therapy and inadequate glycaemic control., Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) and reference lists of articles. The date of the last search was November 2015 for all databases., Selection Criteria: Randomised controlled clinical trials of at least two months' duration comparing insulin monotherapy with combinations of insulin with one or more oral glucose-lowering agent in people with type 2 diabetes., Data Collection and Analysis: Two review authors independently selected trials, assessed risk of bias, extracted data and evaluated overall quality of the evidence using GRADE. We summarised data statistically if they were available, sufficiently similar and of sufficient quality. We performed statistical analyses according to the statistical guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions., Main Results: We included 37 trials with 40 treatment comparisons involving 3227 participants. The duration of the interventions ranged from 2 to 12 months for parallel trials and two to four months for cross-over trials.The majority of trials had an unclear risk of bias in several risk of bias domains. Fourteen trials showed a high risk of bias, mainly for performance and detection bias. Insulin monotherapy, including once-daily long-acting, once-daily intermediate-acting, twice-daily premixed insulin, and basal-bolus regimens (multiple injections), was compared to insulin in combination with sulphonylureas (17 comparisons: glibenclamide = 11, glipizide = 2, tolazamide = 2, gliclazide = 1, glimepiride = 1), metformin (11 comparisons), pioglitazone (four comparisons), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (four comparisons: acarbose = 3, miglitol = 1), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4 inhibitors) (three comparisons: vildagliptin = 1, sitagliptin = 1, saxagliptin = 1) and the combination of metformin and glimepiride (one comparison). No trials assessed all-cause mortality, diabetes-related morbidity or health-related quality of life. Only one trial assessed patients' treatment satisfaction and showed no substantial differences between the addition of either glimepiride or metformin and glimepiride to insulin compared with insulin monotherapy.Insulin-sulphonylurea combination therapy (CT) compared with insulin monotherapy (IM) showed a MD in glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of -1% (95% confidence interval (CI) -1.6 to -0.5); P < 0.01; 316 participants; 9 trials; low-quality evidence. Insulin-metformin CT compared with IM showed a MD in HbA1c of -0.9% (95% CI -1.2 to -0.5); P < 0.01; 698 participants; 9 trials; low-quality evidence. We could not pool the results of adding pioglitazone to insulin. Insulin combined with alpha-glucosidase inhibitors compared with IM showed a MD in HbA1c of -0.4% (95% CI -0.5 to -0.2); P < 0.01; 448 participants; 3 trials; low-quality evidence). Insulin combined with DPP-4 inhibitors compared with IM showed a MD in HbA1c of -0.4% (95% CI -0.5 to -0.4); P < 0.01; 265 participants; 2 trials; low quality evidence. In most trials the participants with CT needed less insulin, whereas insulin requirements increased or remained stable in participants with IM.We did not perform a meta-analysis for hypoglycaemic events because the included studies used different definitions.. In most trials the insulin-sulphonylurea combination resulted in a higher number of mild episodes of hypoglycaemia, compared to the IM group (range: 2.2 to 6.1 episodes per participant in CT versus 2.0 to 2.6 episodes per participant in IM; low-quality evidence). Pioglitazone CT also resulted in more mild to moderate hypoglycaemic episodes compared with IM (range 15 to 90 episodes versus 9 to 75 episodes, respectively; low-quality evidence. The trials that reported hypoglycaemic episodes in the other combinations found comparable numbers of mild to moderate hypoglycaemic events (low-quality evidence).The addition of sulphonylureas resulted in an additional weight gain of 0.4 kg to 1.9 kg versus -0.8 kg to 2.1 kg in the IM group (220 participants; 7 trials; low-quality evidence). Pioglitazone CT caused more weight gain compared to IM: MD 3.8 kg (95% CI 3.0 to 4.6); P < 0.01; 288 participants; 2 trials; low-quality evidence. Metformin CT was associated with weight loss: MD -2.1 kg (95% CI -3.2 to -1.1), P < 0.01; 615 participants; 7 trials; low-quality evidence). DPP-4 inhibitors CT showed weight gain of -0.7 to 1.3 kg versus 0.6 to 1.1 kg in the IM group (362 participants; 2 trials; low-quality evidence). Alpha-glucosidase CT compared to IM showed a MD of -0.5 kg (95% CI -1.2 to 0.3); P = 0.26; 241 participants; 2 trials; low-quality evidence.Users of metformin CT (range 7% to 67% versus 5% to 16%), and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors CT (14% to 75% versus 4% to 35%) experienced more gastro-intestinal adverse effects compared to participants on IM. Two trials reported a higher frequency of oedema with the use of pioglitazone CT (range: 16% to 18% versus 4% to 7% IM)., Authors' Conclusions: The addition of all oral glucose-lowering agents in people with type 2 diabetes and inadequate glycaemic control who are on insulin therapy has positive effects on glycaemic control and insulin requirements. The addition of sulphonylureas results in more hypoglycaemic events. Additional weight gain can only be avoided by adding metformin to insulin. Other well-known adverse effects of oral glucose-lowering agents have to be taken into account when prescribing oral glucose-lowering agents in addition to insulin therapy.

Background: Intensive treatment (IT) of cardiovascular risk factors can halve mortality among people with established type 2 diabetes but the effects of treatment earlier in the disease trajectory are uncertain., Objective: To quantify the cost-effectiveness of intensive multifactorial treatment of screen-detected diabetes., Design: Pragmatic, multicentre, cluster-randomised, parallel-group trial., Setting: Three hundred and forty-three general practices in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Cambridge and Leicester, UK., Participants: Individuals aged 40-69 years with screen-detected diabetes., Interventions: Screening plus routine care (RC) according to national guidelines or IT comprising screening and promotion of target-driven intensive management (medication and promotion of healthy lifestyles) of hyperglycaemia, blood pressure and cholesterol., Main Outcome Measures: The primary end point was a composite of first cardiovascular event (cardiovascular mortality/morbidity, revascularisation and non-traumatic amputation) during a mean [standard deviation (SD)] follow-up of 5.3 (1.6) years. Secondary end points were (1) all-cause mortality; (2) microvascular outcomes (kidney function, retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy); and (3) patient-reported outcomes (health status, well-being, quality of life, treatment satisfaction). Economic analyses estimated mean costs (UK 2009/10 prices) and quality-adjusted life-years from an NHS perspective. We extrapolated data to 30 years using the UK Prospective Diabetes Study outcomes model [version 1.3; (©) Isis Innovation Ltd 2010; see www.dtu.ox.ac.uk/outcomesmodel (accessed 27 January 2016)]., Results: We included 3055 (RC, n = 1377; IT, n = 1678) of the 3057 recruited patients [mean (SD) age 60.3 (6.9) years] in intention-to-treat analyses. Prescription of glucose-lowering, antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medication increased in both groups, more so in the IT group than in the RC group. There were clinically important improvements in cardiovascular risk factors in both study groups. Modest but statistically significant differences between groups in reduction in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, blood pressure and cholesterol favoured the IT group. The incidence of first cardiovascular event [IT 7.2%, 13.5 per 1000 person-years; RC 8.5%, 15.9 per 1000 person-years; hazard ratio 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65 to 1.05] and all-cause mortality (IT 6.2%, 11.6 per 1000 person-years; RC 6.7%, 12.5 per 1000 person-years; hazard ratio 0.91, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.21) did not differ between groups. At 5 years, albuminuria was present in 22.7% and 24.4% of participants in the IT and RC groups, respectively [odds ratio (OR) 0.87, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.07), retinopathy in 10.2% and 12.1%, respectively (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.10), and neuropathy in 4.9% and 5.9% (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.34), respectively. The estimated glomerular filtration rate increased between baseline and follow-up in both groups (IT 4.31 ml/minute; RC 6.44 ml/minute). Health status, well-being, diabetes-specific quality of life and treatment satisfaction did not differ between the groups. The intervention cost £981 per patient and was not cost-effective at costs ≥ £631 per patient., Conclusions: Compared with RC, IT was associated with modest increases in prescribed treatment, reduced levels of risk factors and non-significant reductions in cardiovascular events, microvascular complications and death over 5 years. IT did not adversely affect patient-reported outcomes. IT was not cost-effective but might be if delivered at a reduced cost. The lower than expected event rate, heterogeneity of intervention delivery between centres and improvements in general practice diabetes care limited the achievable differences in treatment between groups. Further follow-up to assess the legacy effects of early IT is warranted., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00237549., Funding Details: This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 20, No. 64. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Aims: To explore differences in clinical characteristics of patients with and without type 2 diabetes (T2DM) hospitalized with a first myocardial infarction (MI)., Methods: In this cross-sectional study we examined differences between patients with and without T2DM hospitalized with a first MI (n=563). Multiple linear regression modeling was used to examine the association between T2DM and age of occurrence of MI. We adjusted for gender, systolic blood pressure (BP), lipids and creatinine level to examine whether these variables explained the association between T2DM and age of occurrence of MI., Results: Among 563 patients with a first MI, T2DM patients (n=77) were older than non-diabetic patients (67.8±10.9 vs. 64.4±13.4years, p<0.05), had lower LDL (2.5±0.8 vs. 3.4±1.1mmol/l, p<0.001) and total cholesterol levels (4.4±0.9 vs. 5.4±1.2mmol/l, p<0.001), but higher systolic BP (150.3±29.9 vs. 141.7±27.5mmHg, p<0.05). The association between T2DM and age of occurrence of MI was largely explained by cholesterol levels., Conclusions: T2DM patients were older when hospitalized with a first MI. This difference was largely explained by differences in cholesterol levels. The lower cholesterol levels in T2DM patients compared to non-diabetic patients, and maybe also the older age of occurrence of MI, might reflect the results successful primary prevention and systematic monitoring in T2DM., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To determine whether US and European participants in the Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes: Evaluation of cardiovascular outcome Results (LEADER) trial differ regarding risk factors for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity., Methods: Baseline data, stratified for prior cardiovascular disease (CVD), were compared using multivariable logistic regression analysis to establish whether region is an independent determinant of achieved targets for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol., Results: Independent of CVD history, US participants were more often of non-White origin and had a longer history of type 2 diabetes, higher body weight, and higher baseline HbA1c. They had substantially lower systolic and diastolic BP, and a marginally lower LDL-cholesterol level. Fewer US participants were diagnosed with left ventricular dysfunction. In the largest group of patients, those with prior CVD and the highest cardiovascular risk, US participants were more often female, had a higher waist circumference, and had a decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate, but less frequently prior myocardial infarction or angina pectoris., Conclusions: There were baseline differences between US and European participants. These differences may result from variation in regional targets for cardiovascular risk factor management, and should be considered in the analysis and reporting of the trial results. Clinical trial identifier: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01179048.

Aim: To evaluate two cognitive tests for case-finding for cognitive impairment in older patients with Type 2 diabetes., Methods: Of 1243 invited patients with Type 2 diabetes, aged ≥70 years, 228 participated in a prospective cohort study. Exclusion criteria were: diagnosis of dementia; previous investigation at a memory clinic; and inability to write or read. Patients first filled out two self-administered cognitive tests (Test Your Memory and Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination). Secondly, a general practitioner, blinded to Test Your Memory and Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination scores, performed a structured evaluation using the Mini-Mental State Examination. Subsequently, patients suspected of cognitive impairment (on either the cognitive tests or general practitioner evaluation) and a random sample of 30% of patients not suspected of cognitive impairment were evaluated at a memory clinic. Diagnostic accuracy and area under the curve were determined for the Test Your Memory, Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination and general practitioner evaluation compared with a memory clinic evaluation to detect cognitive impairment (mild cognitive impairment or dementia)., Results: A total of 44 participants were diagnosed with cognitive impairment. The Test Your Memory and Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination questionnaires had negative predictive values of 81 and 85%, respectively. Positive predictive values were 39 and 40%, respectively. The general practitioner evaluation had a negative predictive value of 83% and positive predictive value of 64%. The area under the curve was ~0.70 for all tests., Conclusions: Both the tests evaluated in the present study can easily be used in case-finding strategies for cognitive impairment in patients with Type 2 diabetes in primary care. The Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination had the best diagnostic accuracy and therefore we would have a slight preference for this test. Applying the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination would considerably reduce the number of patients in whom the general practitioner needs to evaluate cognitive functioning to tailor diabetes treatment., (© 2015 Diabetes UK.)

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) brings about an increasing psychosocial problem in adult patients. Prevalence data on and associated factors of diabetes related distress (DRD) and depression have been lacking in Asia. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of DRD and depression, and their associated factors in Asian adult T2DM patients. This study was conducted in three public health clinics measuring DRD (Diabetes Distress Scale, DDS), and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ). Patients who were at least 30 years of age, had T2DM for more than one year, with regular follow-up and recent laboratory results (< 3 months) were consecutively recruited. Associations between DRD, depression and the combination DRD-depression with demographic and clinical characteristics were analysed using generalized linear models. From 752 invited people, 700 participated (mean age 56.9 years, 52.8% female, 52.9% Malay, 79.1% married). Prevalence of DRD and depression were 49.2% and 41.7%, respectively. Distress and depression were correlated, spearman's r = 0.50. Patients with higher DRD were younger (OR 0.995, 95% CI 0.996 to 0.991), Chinese (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.29), attending Dengkil health clinic (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.22) and had higher scores on the PHQ (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.06). Depression was less likely in the unmarried compared to divorced/separately living and those attending Dengkil health clinic, but more likely in patients with microvascular complications (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.73) and higher DDS (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.03). For the combination of DRD and depression, unemployment (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.02 to 21.20) had positive association, whereas those under medical care at the Salak health clinics (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.63), and those with a blood pressure > 130/80 mmHg (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.89) were less likely to experience both DRD and depression. DRD and depression were common and correlated in Asian adults with T2DM at primary care level. Socio-demographic more than clinical characteristics were related to DRD and depression.

Aims: To investigate the impact of the UKPDS risk engine on management of CHD risk in T2DM patients., Methods: Observational study among 139 GPs. Data from 933 consecutive patients treated with a maximum of two oral glucose lowering drugs, collected at baseline and after twelve months. GPs estimated the CHD risk themselves and afterwards they calculated this with the UKPDS risk engine. Under- and overestimation were defined as a difference >5 percentage points difference between both calculations. The impact of the UKPDS risk engine was assessed by measuring differences in medication adjustments between the over-, under- and accurately estimated group., Results: In 42.0% the GP accurately estimated the CHD risk, in 32.4% the risk was underestimated and in 25.6% overestimated. Mean difference between the estimated (18.7%) and calculated (19.1%) 10 years CHD risk was -0.36% (95% CI -1.24 to 0.52). Male gender, current smoking and total cholesterol level were associated with underestimation. Patients with an subjectively underestimated CHD risk received significantly more medication adjustments. Their UKPDS 10 year CHD risk did not increase during the follow-up period, contrary to the other two groups of patients., Conclusions: The UKPDS risk engine may be of added value for risk management in T2DM., (Copyright © 2015 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Diabetes care is shifting from disease management to personalised care. Internationally, diabetes care providers are advised to integrate the patient's preferences, wishes and possibilities into diabetes care in order to improve its efficiency. The Dutch Diabetes Federation has developed a specifically patient-centred conversation model that can be systematically applied. At an annual appraisal, the physician and the patient make decisions on the treatment goals to set, and on the treatment and professional support needed to achieve these goals. In this way person-centred and efficient care may become reality. The first results of a pilot study are promising. Currently the applicability and added value of the model are being tested on a large scale. The model is more broadly applicable, which means this could be a new perspective for everyone with a chronic disease.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored, supportive intervention strategy in influencing diabetes-related distress, health status, well-being and clinical outcomes in people with Type 2 diabetes shortly after a first acute coronary event., Methods: People with Type 2 diabetes and a recent first acute coronary event (n = 201) were randomized to the intervention group (three home visits by a diabetes nurse) or the attention control group (one telephone consultation). Outcomes were measured after discharge (baseline) and at 5 months (follow-up) using validated questionnaires for diabetes-related distress (Problem Areas in Diabetes), well-being (WHO Well-Being Index) and health status (Euroqol 5 Dimensions; Euroqol Visual Analogue Scale). ancova was used to analyse change-over-time differences between groups., Results: Follow-up data were available for 81 participants in the intervention group (66.0 ± 9.3 years, 76% male) and 80 in the control group (65.6 ± 9.4 years, 75% male) participants. Mean diabetes-related distress was low after hospital discharge (intervention group: 8.2 ± 10.1; control group: 9.2 ± 12.4) and did not change after 5 months (intervention group: 9.2 ± 12.4; control group: 9.0 ± 11.2). Baseline well-being was less favourable but improved significantly in the intervention group (baseline: 58.5 ± 28.0; follow-up: 65.5 ± 23.7; P = 0.005), but not in the control group (baseline: 57.5 ± 25.2; follow-up: 59.6 ± 24.4; P = 0.481). Health status also improved in the intervention group (baseline: 69.9 ± 17.3; follow-up: 76.8 ± 15.6; P < 0.001) but not in the control group (baseline: 68.6 ± 15.9; follow-up: 69.9 ± 16.7; P = 0.470). A significant group effect was found for health status (F = 7.9; P = 0.006)., Conclusions: Although the intervention had no effect on diabetes-related distress, this might be at least partially attributable to very low levels of diabetes-related distress at baseline. Interestingly, health status scores and well-being, which were less favourable at baseline, both improved after the tailored support intervention., (© 2015 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine © 2015 Diabetes UK.)

Background: The worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) underlines the need for diabetes prevention strategies. In this study the feasibility and effectiveness of a nurse led lifestyle program for subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is assessed., Methods: A cluster randomized clinical trial in 26 primary care practices in the Netherlands included 366 participants older than 45 years with newly diagnosed IFG and motivated to change their lifestyle (intervention group, n = 197; usual care group, n = 169). The one-year intervention, consisting of four to five individual nurse-led consultations, was directed at improving physical activity and dietary habits. The primary outcome measure was body mass index (BMI). Linear and logistic multilevel analyses and a process evaluation were performed., Results: Both groups showed small reductions in BMI at 1 and 2 years, but differences between groups were not significant. At both 1 and 2-year follow-up the number of participants physically active for at least 30 minutes at least five days a week was significantly improved in the intervention group compared to the usual care group (intervention group vs. usual care group: OR1year = 3.53; 95 % CI = 1.69-7.37 and OR2years = 1.97; 95 % CI = 1.22-3.20, respectively). The total drop-out rate was 24 %. Process evaluation revealed that participants in the intervention group received fewer consultations than advised, while some practice nurses and participants considered the RM protocol too intensive., Conclusions: This relatively simple lifestyle program in subjects with IFG resulted in a significant improvement in reported physical activity, but not in BMI. Despite its simplicity, some participants still considered the intervention too intensive. This viewpoint could be related to poor motivation and an absence of disease burden due to IFG, such that participants do not feel a need for behavioural change. Although the intervention provided some benefit, its wider use cannot be advised., Trial Registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN41209683 , date of registration 16/10/2013h  .

Background: Perceptions of illness are important determinants of health behaviour. A better understanding of perceptions of obesity might allow more effective interventions that challenge these perceptions through lifestyle modification programs. Although several studies have evaluated causal attributions with regard to obesity, other domains of illness perception, such as the perceived consequences of obesity and perceived controllability, have not yet been studied. The aim of the current study was to explore perceptions regarding causes, consequences, control, concerns and time course of obesity of centrally obese adults, with and without an elevated cardiometabolic risk and with or without weight loss, 3 years after screening for metabolic syndrome, and to compare these perceptions., Methods: Three groups were selected from a longitudinal study dependent on the baseline and 3-year follow-up profiles: individuals with central obesity and metabolic syndrome at both time points ('persistent cardiometabolic-risk group', n = 80), those with central obesity but without metabolic syndrome on either occasion ('persistent obese group', n = 63), and formerly obese individuals ('improved cardiometabolic-risk group', n = 49). Perceptions of obesity were assessed using an adapted version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ, range 0-10). Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed to compare the 'persistent cardiometabolic risk' group with the other two groups with regard to patient characteristics and BIPQ scores., Results: Both males and females who improved their cardiometabolic risk perceived their obesity as shorter (median (IQR): 3.0 (4.0) vs. 6.0 (3.0), p < 0.001) and experienced greater personal control over their weight (7.0 (3.0) vs. 5.0 (3.0), p = 0.002) compared to those who did not improve. Females who improved their cardiometabolic risk experienced fewer identity and illness concerns, this was not found for males. Other scores did not differ between groups., Conclusion: Obese adults with an improved cardiometabolic risk profile felt greater personal control and considered their obesity to be of shorter duration. Persistence of central obesity with additional cardiometabolic risk factors had a larger impact on female than male participants with respect to identity and illness concerns. Whether discussing 'personal control' is a favourable element in lifestyle intervention should now be assessed in the setting of a controlled trial.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between diabetes duration and diabetes-related distress and to examine the impact of micro- and macrovascular complications and blood glucose-lowering treatment on this relationship., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in people with Type 2 diabetes who participated in the Dutch Diacourse study (n = 590) and completed the Problem Areas in Diabetes questionnaire. Data on diabetes duration, micro- and macrovascular complications and blood glucose-lowering treatment were collected. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to investigate the association between diabetes duration and diabetes-related distress, and to examine whether complications and treatment could explain this association., Results: A significant linear and quadratic association between diabetes duration and diabetes-related distress was found (duration: β = 0.27, P = 0.005; duration(2): β = -0.21, P = 0.030). The association between duration and distress could be explained by microvascular complications and insulin treatment, which were both more often present in people with a longer diabetes duration, and were associated with higher levels of diabetes-related distress (β = 0.20, P < 0.001 and β = 0.16, P = 0.006 respectively). Duration, age, gender, complications and treatment together explained 13.1% of the variance in distress., Conclusions: Diabetes duration was associated with diabetes-related distress. This association can be explained largely by the presence of diabetes-related microvascular complications and insulin treatment. Healthcare providers should focus on distress in people with Type 2 diabetes in different stages over the course of illness, especially when complications are present or when people are on insulin treatment. As well as diabetes duration, complications and blood glucose-lowering treatment, diabetes-related distress is likely to be influenced by many other factors., (© 2015 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine © 2015 Diabetes UK.)

Aims: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is associated with cognitive impairment. We examined whether undiagnosed cognitive impairment in T2DM-patients is associated with a reduced health status and depressive symptoms., Methods: In an observational study, 225 T2DM-patients aged ≥70years were examined at their homes and (some of them) at a memory clinic for undiagnosed cognitive impairment (dementia or mild cognitive impairment [MCI], defined according to internationally accepted criteria). Questionnaires assessing health status (SF-36, EQ-5D, EQ-VAS) and depressive symptoms (CES-D) were filled out. Health status and depressive symptoms were compared between patients with and without cognitive impairment., Results: Patients with cognitive impairment (n=57) showed significantly lower scores on the physical and mental summary scores of the SF-36 than patients with normal cognition (difference: 3.5 (95%-CI 0.7-6.3, p=0.02, effect size 0.41) and 2.9 (95%-CI 0.3-5.6; p=0.03, effect size 0.37). EQ-5D index and EQ-VAS scores were significantly lower in patients with cognitive impairment. Depression (CES-D≥16) occurred almost twice as often in patients with cognitive impairment (RR 1.8; 95%-CI: 1.1-3.0)., Conclusions: Undiagnosed cognitive impairment in T2DM-patients is associated with a reduced health status and more depressive symptoms. Detection of cognitive impairment in T2DM-patients identifies a vulnerable patient group that could benefit from tailored treatment and care., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and adiponectin, reflecting chronic inflammation, are associated with cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes. The long-term effects of multifactorial therapy in type 2 diabetes patients on CRP and adiponectin are unknown., Methods: The ADDITION-NL study is a randomized clinical trial among screen-detected type 2 diabetes patients, randomized to intensive treatment (HbA1c <7.0% (53 mmol/mol), blood pressure ≤135/85 mmHg, total cholesterol ≤3.5 mmol/L) or routine care. Hs-CRP and adiponectin were measured before and 1, 2 and 6 years after inclusion. We analysed the effectiveness of the intervention on hs-CRP and adiponectin levels using a mixed effects model, taking into account practice, baseline levels and different medications., Results: A total of 424 patients were included (intensive care n = 235; routine care n = 189). Both groups were well matched. Body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and HbA1c improved significantly more in the intensive care group compared to routine care group. Levels of hs-CRP decreased significantly in both treatment groups over time. Mean hs-CRP in the routine care group was 24% higher (p = 0.0027) than in the intensive treatment group during follow-up. After an initial increase the adiponectin values levelled off to nearly baseline values in both groups. The difference between the two groups after 6 years was 0.44 µg/mL (p = 0.27)., Conclusions: Intensified multifactorial treatment in type 2 diabetes results in an enhanced decrease in hs-CRP. Whether this is clinically meaningful remains uncertain. The link to adiponectin seems to be more complex., (Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Many type 2 diabetes mellitus patients have difficulties reaching optimal blood glucose control. With patients treated in primary care by nurses, nurse communication plays a pivotal role in supporting patient health. The twofold aim of the present review is to categorize common barriers to nurse-patient communication and to review potentially effective communication methods. Important communication barriers are lack of skills and self-efficacy, possibly because nurses work in a context where they have to perform biomedical examinations and then perform patient-centered counseling from a biopsychosocial approach. Training in patient-centered counseling does not seem helpful in overcoming this paradox. Rather, patient-centeredness should be regarded as a basic condition for counseling, whereby nurses and patients seek to cooperate and share responsibility based on trust. Nurses may be more successful when incorporating behavior change counseling based on psychological principles of self-regulation, for example, goal setting, incremental performance accomplishments, and action planning., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Objective: To estimate the benefits of screening and early treatment of type 2 diabetes compared with no screening and late treatment using a simulation model with data from the ADDITION-Europe study., Research Design and Methods: We used the Michigan Model, a validated computer simulation model, and data from the ADDITION-Europe study to estimate the absolute risk of cardiovascular outcomes and the relative risk reduction associated with screening and intensive treatment, screening and routine treatment, and no screening with a 3- or 6-year delay in the diagnosis and routine treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors., Results: When the computer simulation model was programmed with the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the ADDITION-Europe population, it accurately predicted the empiric results of the trial. The simulated absolute risk reduction and relative risk reduction were substantially greater at 5 years with screening, early diagnosis, and routine treatment compared with scenarios in which there was a 3-year (3.3% absolute risk reduction [ARR], 29% relative risk reduction [RRR]) or a 6-year (4.9% ARR, 38% RRR) delay in diagnosis and routine treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors., Conclusions: Major benefits are likely to accrue from the early diagnosis and treatment of glycemia and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes. The intensity of glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol treatment after diagnosis is less important than the time of its initiation. Screening for type 2 diabetes to reduce the lead time between diabetes onset and clinical diagnosis and to allow for prompt multifactorial treatment is warranted., (© 2015 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.)

Aims: To examine the short- and long-term cost-effectiveness of intensive multifactorial treatment compared with routine care among people with screen-detected Type 2 diabetes., Methods: Cost-utility analysis in ADDITION-UK, a cluster-randomized controlled trial of early intensive treatment in people with screen-detected diabetes in 69 UK general practices. Unit treatment costs and utility decrement data were taken from published literature. Accumulated costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were calculated using ADDITION-UK data from 1 to 5 years (short-term analysis, n = 1024); trial data were extrapolated to 30 years using the UKPDS outcomes model (version 1.3) (long-term analysis; n = 999). All costs were transformed to the UK 2009/10 price level., Results: Adjusted incremental costs to the NHS were £285, £935, £1190 and £1745 over a 1-, 5-, 10- and 30-year time horizon, respectively (discounted at 3.5%). Adjusted incremental QALYs were 0.0000, - 0.0040, 0.0140 and 0.0465 over the same time horizons. Point estimate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) suggested that the intervention was not cost-effective although the ratio improved over time: the ICER over 10 years was £82,250, falling to £37,500 over 30 years. The ICER fell below £30 000 only when the intervention cost was below £631 per patient: we estimated the cost at £981., Conclusion: Given conventional thresholds of cost-effectiveness, the intensive treatment delivered in ADDITION was not cost-effective compared with routine care for individuals with screen-detected diabetes in the UK. The intervention may be cost-effective if it can be delivered at reduced cost., (© 2015 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK.)

Objective: A diabetes patient web portal allows patients to access their personal health record and may improve diabetes outcomes; however, patients' adoption is slow. We aimed to get insight into patients' experiences with a web portal to understand how the portal is being used, how patients perceive the content of the portal and to assess whether redesign of the portal might be needed., Materials and Methods: A survey among 1500 patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with a login to a patient portal., Setting: 62 primary care practices and one outpatient hospital clinic, using a combined patient portal. We compared patients who requested a login but never used it or once ('early quitters') with patients who used it at least two times ('persistent users')., Results: 632 patients (42.1%) returned the questionnaire. Their mean age was 59.7 years, 63.1% was male and 81.8% had type 2 diabetes. 413 (65.3%) people were persistent users and 34.7% early quitters. In the multivariable analysis, insulin use (OR2.07; 95%CI[1.18-3.62]), experiencing more frequently hyperglycemic episodes (OR1.30;95%CI[1.14-1.49]) and better diabetes knowledge (OR1.02, 95%CI[1.01-1.03]) do increase the odds of being a persistent user. Persistent users perceived the usefulness of the patient portal significantly more favorable. However, they also more decisively declared that the patient portal is not helpful in supporting life style changes. Early quitters felt significantly more items not applicable in their situation compared to persistent users. Both persistent users (69.8%) and early quitters (58.8%) would prefer a reminder function for scheduled visits. About 60% of both groups wanted information about medication and side-effects in their portal., Conclusions: The diabetes patient web portal might be improved significantly by taking into account the patients' experiences and attitudes. We propose creating separate portals for patients on insulin or not.

Background: Cognitive impairment frequently co-occurs with type 2 diabetes but is often undiagnosed. Cognitive impairment affects self-management leading to treatment-related complications., Objective: The aim of this study is to develop a stepped diagnostic procedure, consisting of a screening test complemented by an evaluation by a general practitioner (GP), to detect undiagnosed cognitive impairment in older people with type 2 diabetes., Methods: The accuracy of two self-administered cognitive tests, the "Test Your Memory" (TYM) and "Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination" (SAGE) alone, and in combination with an evaluation by a GP will be assessed. A diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia at a memory clinic will serve as reference standard. This cognitive impairment in diabetes (Cog-ID) study will include 513 people from primary care facilities aged ≥70 with type 2 diabetes. The participants will first fill out the TYM and SAGE tests, followed by a standardized GP evaluation for cognitive impairment, including a mini mental state examination (MMSE). Subsequently, participants suspected of cognitive impairment (on either test or the GP assessment) and a random sample of 15% (65/435) of participants without suspected cognitive impairment will be referred to the memory clinic. At the memory clinic, a medical examination, neuropsychological examination, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain will be performed. Participants will also fill out questionnaires assessing health status and depressive symptoms at baseline and after 6 and 24 months., Results: This research obtained funding and ethical approval. Enrolment started in August, 2012, and all study-related activities will be completed in September, 2016., Conclusions: With the results from this study, physicians will be able to detect cognitive impairment affecting type 2 diabetes patients through case-finding, and can use tailored care to reduce associated complications. Additionally, the results may stimulate discussions about cognitive impairment and whether early recognition is desirable.