New Asian poll highlights major considerations when managing Type 2 Diabetes

Nov 6 2013

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company today announced results from a poll conducted with almost 800 physicians treating people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), in Japan, China, India and South Korea.

Results from the online poll revealed 79 percent of the physicians surveyed believed the complexity of managing T2D is currently underestimated.

Despite these complexities, high quality, structured patient education can help to improve health outcomes and significantly improve quality of life in people with T2D. Ninety percent of physicians polled agreed both HCPs and patients could gain from additional medical information and patient support materials.

People with T2D have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke compared to those without the condition. The survey also highlighted the importance of managing cardiovascular risk in T2D. This was well recognised by the physicians polled and 94 percent of respondents believed the management of cardiovascular risk influenced their decision when prescribing an oral anti-hyperglycaemic treatment.

In treating T2D, a number of factors may play a role in patient adherence to treatment regimes, including the dosing schedule. Half of the physicians surveyed ranked ‘number of doses per day’ as the factor that influenced them the most when prescribing an oral anti-hyperglycaemic agent, in addition to the management of blood glucose.

“More than 60 percent of the world’s diabetes population lives in Asia and physicians treating Type 2 Diabetes in this region acknowledge that this is a complex condition,” said Professor Klaus Dugi, Corporate Senior Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim. “Despite the numerous challenges Type 2 Diabetes can present in the face of rising prevalence, results from this survey show that healthcare professionals in Asia are evaluating the full spectrum of available treatments, dosing regimens, risk factors and co-morbidities to achieve the best possible health outcomes for their patients.”

The results of this poll echo those from a similar survey conducted by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company in September 2013 with more than 1,000 primary care healthcare professionals across eight European countries. The impact of cardiovascular risk in treating T2D was also highlighted in these results. Almost three quarters of physicians (74 percent) surveyed believed the management of cardiovascular risk is underestimated in people with T2D and 87 percent of respondents regard cardiovascular risk as a key consideration when making treatment decisions.

Methodology

Over a two week period, an online tool consisting of five short multiple choice questions was used to gauge opinion from 798 physicians from Japan, South Korea, China and India. Results were then collated from the different markets to draw overall conclusions.

Source: http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/