Why carry out this study?

Recent trials demonstrated significant benefits of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT-2i) drug classes in type 2 diabetes patients with specific clinical characteristics

The type 2 diabetes treatment guidelines have been updated by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) recommending new preferred agents for different clinical groups

An early evaluation of adherence to the guidelines recommendations is informative regarding uptake of guideline-driven therapy

What was learned from the study?

This retrospective study using claims data reveals that recommended therapies, such as SGLT-2is and GLP-1RAs, evaluated in the first year after guideline publication, are underutilized in most of the targeted clinical groups and are only partially aligned with current treatment recommendations

This study identified factors that influence adherence to the guidelines, which can help inform where to target efforts to improve guideline adherence

Since many patients fit into multiple risk groups with established treatment benefits, improving adherence would represent significant opportunities to make meaningful improvement in the care for patients with type 2 diabetes