from American Journal of Managed Care
Poorly controlled type 2 diabetes has serious and even fatal consequences. Even with that knowledge, a surprising number of diabetics stop taking medications. Northwestern University scientists reviewed information on more than eighty thousand patients over a three-year period. Within a year of being prescribed one of several second-line diabetes medications, one-half of them just stopped and didn’t start another one. Certain classes of second-line medications can have unpleasant side-effects in some patients, but while stopping is common, authors say the patient needs to talk to their healthcare provider to explore other medication options before serious harm sets in. The study is in the American Journal of Managed Care.