Table 1. Baseline characteristics of type 2 diabetes patients who initiated GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) or other non-GLP-1RA anti-diabetic drugs (Control) between January 2011 and March 2014 in primary care in Germany.
| Variables | Men | Women | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | GLP-1 RAs | Control | GLP-1 RAs | Control | GLP-1 RAs | Control |
| N | 521 | 2838 | 417 | 2359 | 938 | 5197 |
| Age (years) | 57.3 (11.5)* | 65.9 (11.9)* | 58.4 (12.2)* | 69.3 (12.7)* | 57.8 (11.8)* | 67.4 (12.4)* |
| Private health insurance (%) | 15.9* | 8.0* | 7.2* | 3.8* | 12.0* | 6.1* |
| Diabetologist care (%) | 23.0* | 11.0* | 22.5* | 10.8* | 22.8* | 10.9* |
| Practice region (East Germany) (%) | 28.8* | 20.4* | 23.5 | 21.5 | 26.4* | 20.9* |
| HbA1c % | 8.2 (1.5) | 8.1 (1.6) | 8.1 (1.5) | 7.9 (1.5) | 8.1 (1.5)* | 8.0 (1.6)* |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 35.9 (7.0)* | 30.8. (5.8)* | 36.4 (6.3)* | 31.9 (6.3)* | 36.1 (6.7)* | 31.3. (6.1)* |
| Peripheral neuropathy (%) | 8.8 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 8.4 | 7.8 |
| Retinopathy (%) | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 |
| Nephropathy (%) | 7.1 | 7.6 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 7.5 |
| Baseline diagnoses: | ||||||
| Hypertension (%) | 50.3* | 56.4* | 49.6* | 61.1* | 50.0* | 58.6* |
| Dyslipidemia (%) | 26.9 | 30.7 | 25.2 | 27.3 | 26.1 | 29.1 |
| Obesity diagnosis (%) | 14.2* | 6.8* | 17.7* | 7.4* | 15.8* | 7.0* |
| Myocardial infarction (%) | 1.5 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| Coronary heart disease (%) | 9.6* | 18.3* | 9.8 | 12.0 | 9.7* | 15.4* |
| Peripheral vascular disease (%) | 3.5* | 7.1* | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.8* | 5.9* |
| Mental illness (%) | 11.5 | 12.6 | 19.9 | 20.9 | 15.2 | 16.3 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Score | 1.9 (1.5) | 1.9 (1.4) | 1.7 (1.1) | 1.9 (1.5) | 1.8 (1.3) | 1.9 (1.5) |
| Baseline anti-diabetic medication: | ||||||
| Metformin (%) | 41.7* | 70.3* | 46.3* | 69.3* | 43.7* | 69.8* |
| Sulfonylureas (%) | 14.6* | 21.1* | 12.5* | 22.7* | 13.6* | 21.8* |
| DPP-4 inhibitors (%) | 27.6* | 3.3* | 24.0* | 4.4* | 26.0* | 3.8* |
| Insulin (%) | 16.5* | 2.1* | 15.3* | 2.1* | 16.0* | 2.1* |
| Other OADs (%) | 9.9* | 5.2* | 14.1* | 8.0* | 9.4* | 5.0* |
| Baseline medication: | ||||||
| Diuretics (%) | 18.8* | 25.8* | 19.2* | 32.4* | 19.0* | 28.8* |
| Beta-blockers (%) | 35.7* | 41.8* | 33.6* | 46.7* | 34.8* | 44.4* |
| Calcium channel blockers (%) | 18.4* | 22.6* | 18.0* | 26.3* | 18.2* | 24.3* |
| ACE inhibitors (%) | 33.6* | 42.1* | 23.7* | 39.2* | 29.2* | 40.8* |
| Angiotensin II receptor blockers (%) | 23.0* | 18.5* | 26.1* | 21.4* | 24.4* | 19.8* |
| Lipid lowering drugs (%) | 30.9* | 38.0* | 25.4* | 31.7* | 28.5* | 35.1* |
| Non-steroidal antirheumatic agents and other analgesics (%) | 27.4* | 34.5* | 33.3* | 42.2* | 30.1* | 38.0* |
Data are means (SD) or proportions (%).
* p-value <0.05 for the difference between the two treatment groups. Mental illness include schizophrenic, mood and neurotic disorders.