Oral antidiabetic treatment in type-2 diabetes in the elderly: balancing the need for glucose control and the risk of hypoglycemia

Table 2 Antidiabetic pharmacotherapy at baseline before therapy adjustment per age group (combinations with a proportion < 1% were omitted)

	Age ≥ 70 years		Age < 70 to ≥ 60 years		Age < 60 years		p-value*
	n=1,373, (%)		n=1,184, (%)		n=1,253, (%)		p-value*
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Oral monotherapy	973	70.9	777	65.6	867	69.2	0.32
Metformin	700	51.0	616	52.0	751	59.9	<0.0001
Sulfonylureas	205	14.9	101	8.5	81	6.5	<0.0001
Glucosidase inhibitors	27	2.0	22	1.9	15	1.2	0.13
Glinides	29	2.1	23	1.9	9	0.7	<0.01
Thiazolidinediones	5	0.4	11	0.9	6	0.5	0.66
DPP-4 inhibitors	7	0.5	4	0.3	5	0.4	0.65
Oral dual combination	400	29.1	407	34.4	386	30.8	0.32
Met + SU	251	18.3	232	19.6	183	14.6	<0.05
Met + Glukos	12	0.9	12	1.0	6	0.5	0.26
Met + Glin	27	2.0	39	3.3	37	3.0	0.11
Met + Glitaz	47	3.4	62	5.2	75	6.0	<0.01
Met + DPP-4 inhibitors	39	2.8	49	4.1	63	5.0	<0.01

Legend. DPP-4, Dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 inhibitors; OAD, oral antidiabetic drug; * Cochran-Armitage or Jonchkheere-Terpstra test; No GLP-1 analogues or insulins were prescribed because patients with these antidiabetic drugs at baseline were excluded by the study protocol[12].

ISSN: 1475-2840