Treatment pattern of type 2 diabetes differs in two German regions and with patients' socioeconomic position

BACKGROUND: Diabetes treatment may differ by region and patients' socioeconomic position. This may be particularly true for newer drugs. However, data are highly limited. METHODS: We examined pooled individual data of two population-based German studies, KORA F4 (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg, south), and the HNR (Heinz Nixdorf Recall study, west) both carried out 2006 to 2008. To ascertain the association between region and educational level with anti-hyperglycemic medication we fitted poisson regression models with robust error variance for any and newer anti-hyperglycemic medication, adjusting for age, sex, diabetes duration, BMI, cardiovascular disease, lifestyle, and insurance status. RESULTS: The examined sample comprised 662 participants with self-reported type 2 diabetes (KORA F4: 83 women, 111 men; HNR: 183 women, 285 men). The probability to receive any anti-hyperglycemic drug as well as to be treated with newer anti-hyperglycemic drugs such as insulin analogues, thiazolidinediones, or glinides was significantly increased in southern compared to western Germany (prevalence ratio (PR); 95% CI: 1.12; 1.02-1.22, 1.52;1.10-2.11 respectively). Individuals with lower educational level tended to receive anti-hyperglycemic drugs more likely than their better educated counterparts (PR; 95% CI univariable: 1.10; 0.99-1.22; fully adjusted: 1.10; 0.98-1.23). In contrast, lower education was associated with a lower estimated probability to receive newer drugs among those with any anti-hyperglycemic drugs (PR low vs. high education: 0.66; 0.48-0.91; fully adjusted: 0.68; 0.47-0.996). CONCLUSIONS: We found regional and individual social disparities in overall and newer anti-hyperglycemic medication which were not explained by other confounders. Further research is needed

Risk for high depressive symptoms in diagnosed and previously undetected diabetes: 5-year follow-up results of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the risk for the development of high depressive symptoms in study participants with diagnosed and previously undetected diabetes mellitus compared to those without diabetes in a prospective population-based cohort study in Germany. METHODS: We estimated the 5-year cumulative incidence of high depressive symptoms in participants without high depressive symptoms at baseline (n = 3,633, 51.4% men, mean age (SD) 59.1 (7.6) years, 7.0% diagnosed diabetes, 5.3% previously undetected diabetes) from the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study. Diabetes was assessed by self-report, medication, and blood glucose. High depressive symptoms were assessed using CES-D. We calculated odds ratios and their corresponding 95% confidence interval, using multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULT: Cumulative 5-year incidences (95% CI) of high depressive symptoms in participants with diagnosed, undetected, and without diabetes were 7.1 (4.2-10.9), 4.1 (1.8-8.0), and 6.5 (5.6-7.4), respectively. The age-sex-adjusted OR for developing high depressive symptoms was 1.22 (0.74-2.03) in participants with diagnosed compared to those without diabetes, and 1.00 (0.59-1.68) after adjustment for BMI, physical activity, education, stroke, and myocardial infarction. The age-sex adjusted OR for developing high depressive symptoms in participants with previously undetected diabetes compared to those without diabetes was 0.72; 0.35-1.48; and fully adjusted 0.62; 0.30-1.30. CONCLUSION: We found no significant associations, maybe due to low power. However, our results are in line with a recent meta-analysis suggesting that risk of developing high depressive symptoms in patients with diagnosed diabetes may be moderately higher than in those without diabetes, and that comorbidity may explain in part this association. In participants with previously undetected diabetes, this first longitudinal study indicates that the risk is not increased or may even be decreased. These results support the hypothesis that high depressive symptoms develop due to diabetes-related burden and comorbidity and not due to hyperglycemia or hyperinsulinaemia

Risk for High Depressive Symptoms in Diagnosed and Previously Undetected Diabetes: 5-Year Follow-Up Results of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study

Objective The objective of this study was to determine the risk for the development of high depressive symptoms in study participants with diagnosed and previously undetected diabetes mellitus compared to those without diabetes in a prospective population-based cohort study in Germany. Methods We estimated the 5-year cumulative incidence of high depressive symptoms in participants without high depressive symptoms at baseline (n = 3,633, 51.4% men, mean age (SD) 59.1 (7.6) years, 7.0% diagnosed diabetes, 5.3% previously undetected diabetes) from the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study. Diabetes was assessed by self-report, medication, and blood glucose. High depressive symptoms were assessed using CES-D. We calculated odds ratios and their corresponding 95% confidence interval, using multiple logistic regression analyses. Result Cumulative 5-year incidences (95% CI) of high depressive symptoms in participants with diagnosed, undetected, and without diabetes were 7.1 (4.2–10.9), 4.1 (1.8–8.0), and 6.5 (5.6–7.4), respectively. The age-sex-adjusted OR for developing high depressive symptoms was 1.22 (0.74–2.03) in participants with diagnosed compared to those without diabetes, and 1.00 (0.59–1.68) after adjustment for BMI, physical activity, education, stroke, and myocardial infarction. The age-sex adjusted OR for developing high depressive symptoms in participants with previously undetected diabetes compared to those without diabetes was 0.72; 0.35–1.48; and fully adjusted 0.62; 0.30–1.30. Conclusion We found no significant associations, maybe due to low power. However, our results are in line with a recent meta-analysis suggesting that risk of developing high depressive symptoms in patients with diagnosed diabetes may be moderately higher than in those without diabetes, and that comorbidity may explain in part this association. In participants with previously undetected diabetes, this first longitudinal study indicates that the risk is not increased or may even be decreased. These results support the hypothesis that high depressive symptoms develop due to diabetes-related burden and comorbidity and not due to hyperglycemia or hyperinsulinaemia

Comparing sampling strategies to recruit migrants for an epidemiological study. Results from a German feasibility study

Reiss K, Dragano N, Ellert U, et al. Comparing sampling strategies to recruit migrants for an epidemiological study. Results from a German feasibility study. The European Journal of Public Health. 2014;24(5):721-726.Background: In 2011, almost 20.0% of the population of Germany had a migration background. Studies on their health tend to have low participation rates. The aim of our study was to compare different sampling strategies and to test different approaches to recruit migrants for an epidemiological study. Methods: Four recruitment centres of the German National Cohort recruited persons of Turkish origin and ethnic German immigrants from former Soviet Union countries. A register-based (random samples from residents' registration offices) and a community-orientated strategy were applied. Participants underwent a medical examination and self-completed a questionnaire. Results: Used approaches: The community-orientated strategies comprised the acquisition of key persons from migrant networks to support the recruitment, invitation talks and distribution of study materials in migrant settings, etc. The identifying variables in the registry data were name, nationality or country of birth. All but one centres used bilingual study material and study staff. Participation: When comparing the two strategies, the register-based participation rates ranged from 10.1 to 21.0% (n = 668 participants) and the community-oriented recruitment resulted in 722 participants. Conclusion: Register-based recruitment should use a combination of name, nationality and country of birth in order not to be limited to identifying persons with a foreign nationality. However, according to the study staff, the community-oriented approach involving key persons of the same cultural background leads to a better acceptance by the participants. Also, it covers a more heterogeneous group. Yet, it is time-consuming and needs considerably more staff. Further research should establish the effectiveness of a combination of both strategies

Surveillance of myelodysplastic syndrome via migration analyses of blood neutrophils : a potential prognostic tool

Autonomous migration is a central characteristic of immune cells, and changes in this function have been correlated to the progression and severity of diseases. Hence, the identification of pathologically altered leukocyte migration patterns might be a promising approach for disease surveillance and prognostic scoring. However, because of the lack of standardized and robust assays, migration patterns have not been clinically exploited so far. In this study, we introduce an easy-to-use and cross-laboratory, standardized two-dimensional migration assay for neutrophil granulocytes from peripheral blood. By combining time-lapse video microscopy and automated cell tracking, we calculated the average migration of neutrophils from 111 individual participants of the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall MultiGeneration study under steady-state, formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-, CXCL1-, and CXCL8-stimulated conditions. Comparable values were obtained in an independent laboratory from a cohort in Belgium, demonstrating the robustness and transferability of the assay. In a double-blinded retrospective clinical analysis, we found that neutrophil migration strongly correlated with the Revised International Prognostic Scoring System scoring and risk category of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. In fact, patients suffering from high-risk subtypes MDS with excess blasts I or II displayed highly significantly reduced neutrophil migration. Hence, the determination of neutrophil migration patterns might represent a useful tool in the surveillance of MDS. Taken together, we suggest that standardized migration assays of neutrophils and other leukocyte subtypes might be broadly applicable as prognostic and surveillance tools for MDS and potentially for other diseases

Baseline participant characteristics, stratified by diabetes status.

1<p>at baseline: ever diagnosed by a physician.</p