The urgent need for integrated science to fight COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the leading societal concern. The pandemic has shown that the public health concern is not only a medical problem, but also afects society as a whole; so, it has also become the leading scientifc concern. We discuss in this treatise the importance of bringing the world’s scientists together to fnd efective solu‑ tions for controlling the pandemic. By applying novel research frameworks, interdisciplinary collaboration promises to manage the pandemic’s consequences and prevent recurrences of similar pandemics

A Multinational Real-World Study on the Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Initiating Dapagliflozin in Southern Europe

Introduction: A real-world study was performed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients who received dapagliflozin to better understand differences when initiating dapagliflozin in various countries and different prescribing settings. Methods: We assessed pooled data from observational studies carried out in Italy (n = 2484), Spain (n = 564) and Greece (n = 87). The primary objective was to compare the clinical profile of patients initiating dapagliflozin in the three countries. We also evaluated the percentage of patients who received dapagliflozin in clinical practice who satisfied DECLARE-TIMI 58 enrolment criteria. Results: In Italy and Spain, around 90% of patients were receiving metformin vs. 66% in Greece (p < 0.0001). Patients in Greece had lower levels of estimated glomerular filtration rate and lower prevalence rates of retinopathy, prior stroke, acute myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial disease and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Grouping the cohorts by prescribing setting (primary vs. specialist care), baseline HbA1c was lower in primary care (8.4 ± 1.7 vs. 8.7 ± 1.5, respectively; p < 0.0001). Significantly more patients were receiving other medications for concomitant conditions in specialist care. A total of 1416 patients (48%) did not meet DECLARE inclusion criteria, while 1561 (52%) patients met the criteria (Greece 41.05%, Italy 53.19%, Spain 51.35%). Conclusions: Significant differences were seen among patients initiating dapagliflozin in southern Europe. Our results suggest that dapagliflozin was being initiated at different stages of the disease according to the country and prescribing settings. Such geographic heterogeneity may have an impact upon effectiveness of dapagliflozin on glucose lowering, as well as cardiovascular and renal outcomes. © 2019, The Author(s)

Clinical burden of diabetes in Italy in 2018: A look at a systemic disease from the ARNO Diabetes Observatory

Introduction Diabetes is a highly prevalent disease worldwide and represents a challenge for patients and healthcare systems. This population-based study evaluated diabetes burden in Italy in 2018 by assessing all aspects of outpatient and hospital care. Research design and methods We investigated data of 11 300 750 residents in local health districts contributing to ARNO Diabetes Observatory ( 3c20% of Italian inhabitants). All administrative healthcare claims were analyzed to gather information on access to medical resources. Subjects with diabetes, identified by antihyperglycemic drug prescriptions, disease-specific copayment exemption and hospital discharge codes, were compared with age, sex and residency-matched non-diabetic individuals. Results We identified 697 208 subjects with ascertained diabetes, yielding a prevalence of 6.2% (6.5% in men vs 5.9% in women, p<0.001). Age was 69\ub115 (mean\ub1SD). As compared with non-diabetic subjects, patients with diabetes received more prescriptions of any drugs (+30%, p<0.001), laboratory tests, radiologic exams and outpatient specialist consultations (+20%, p<0.001) and were hospitalized more frequently (+86%, p<0.001), with a longer stay (+1.4 days, p<0.001). Although cardiovascular diseases accounted for many hospital discharge diagnoses, virtually all diseases contributed to the higher rate of hospital admissions in diabetic subjects (235 vs 99 per 1000 person-years, p<0.001). Healthcare costs were 2-fold higher in subjects with diabetes, mainly driven by hospitalizations and outpatient care related to chronic complications rather than to glucose-lowering drugs, diabetes-specific devices, or metabolic monitoring. Conclusions The burden of diabetes in Italy is particularly heavy and, as a systemic disease, it includes all aspects of clinical medicine, with consequent high expenses in all areas of healthcare

A view on the quality of diabetes care in Italy and the role of Diabetes Clinics from the 2018 ARNO Diabetes Observatory

Backgrounds and aims: To investigate relevant indicators of quality of care in a large population-based sample of people with diabetes representative of clinical practice in Italy in 2018. Methods and results: We analyzed data from 11,300,750 subjects. All administrative healthcare claims collected in 2018 were scrutinized to identify subjects with diabetes and investigate several indicators of quality of care. Subjects with diabetes were identified by anti-hyperglycemic drug prescriptions, disease-specific co-payment exemption and hospital discharge codes. Indicators of quality of care pertained to monitoring (HbA1c, creatinine, lipid profile, microalbuminuria, eye examination, ECG, ultrasonography of carotid and lower limb arteries) and diabetes treatment (anti-hyperglycemic agents in subjects with cardiovascular disease, CVD). Subjects attending and nonattending Diabetes Clinics were compared. We identified 697,208 individuals with diabetes. HbA1c was assessed at least once in the year in 62.7%, creatinine in 62.3%, total cholesterol in 59.6%, microalbuminuria in 34.3%. Frequency of eye examination was 8.2%, ECG 23.5%, carotid ultrasonography 14.3%, lower limb ultrasonography 7.6%. Among anti-hyperglycemic drugs, SGLT-2 inhibitors were prescribed to ~5% and GLP-1 receptor agonists to ~5% although the proportion of subjects with CVD was ~45%. Subjects attending Diabetes Clinics had higher figures for all these monitoring and treatment indicators. Conclusions: The implementation of national and international guidelines regarding disease monitoring and treatment is far from being satisfactory, especially among subjects nonattending Diabetes Clinics. Further efforts and investments are needed for better disseminating guidelines, more efficaciously engaging healthcare professionals and more strongly empowering the healthcare system to improve diabetes care

Hypoglycaemia, irrespective of the definition used, is reduced when switching to insulin degludec from other basal insulins in routine clinical care : The ReFLeCT study

Background and aims: ReFLeCT was a multicentre, prospective, observational study designed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of switching to insulin degludec (degludec) from other basal insulins in patients with type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D). Few studies had prospectively collected hypoglycaemia data from patient diaries following a switch to degludec in everyday clinical practice. These additional analyses from the ReFLeCT study aimed to assess the effects of switching to degludec according to different hypoglycaemia definitions.Materials and methods: ReFLeCT comprised a 4-week baseline period (pre-switch basal insulin) and a 12-month follow-up period (degludec treatment). The primary endpoint of overall hypoglycaemia reported in patient diaries was reduced during follow-up vs baseline in T1D and T2D with improvement of glycaemic control, as previously reported. Here, hypoglycaemia data from ReFLeCT were analysed using pre-specified and updated (post hoc) American Diabetes Association (ADA) hypoglycaemia definitions. Definitions consisted of: documented asymptomatic and symptomatic, pseudo, probable symptomatic, and Level 1, 2 and 3 (severe) hypoglycaemia (Fig). Hypoglycaemic events were analysed using fully adjusted, negative binomial regression models.Results: In T1D (n=556) and T2D (n=611), estimated rate ratios across the previous and the updated ADA hypoglycaemia definitions were significantly lower during the 12-month follow-up vs the baseline period, except for asymptomatic hypoglycaemia in T1D and Level 3 hypoglycaemia in T2D (due to a low number of severe hypoglycaemic events, no comparable statistics were performed) (Fig). Event rates per patient year were also lower for all definitions during the 12-month follow-up vs the baseline period, except for Level 3 hypoglycaemia in T2D, which marginally increased, although this was likely due to the low number of events in this group.Conclusion: In patients with T1D and T2D, switching to degludec from other basal insulins in routine clinical care is associated with lower rates of hypoglycaemia across a broad range of hypoglycaemia definitions, in combination with improved glycaemic control.</p