Global Survey Reveals More Than A Quarter Of Canadians With Type 2 Diabetes Do Not Take Insulin As Prescribed And One Third Are Experiencing Events Of Low Blood Sugar Frequently

One in five Canadian patients deliberately do not take insulin as prescribed to reduce the risk of experiencing low blood sugar at night

TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2012 /CNW/ - More than a quarter of Canadians living with type 2 diabetes are not taking insulin as prescribed by their physician, reveals an international survey. The survey reveals a startling correlation between mis-dosed insulin and incidences of dangerously low blood sugar, known as a hypoglycemic event, as one third of survey respondents also reported experiencing at least one hypoglycemic event over a 30-day period.

The GAPP2™ (Global Attitude of Patients and Physicians) survey shows that Canadian healthcare professionals (HCPs) are concerned that patients often under-report frequency or severity of hypoglycemic events despite reporting that they discussed these events with approximately six in ten patients over a 30-day time period.

Insulin dosing irregularities are common in Canadian patients The GAPP2™ survey revealed that HCPs believe that long acting insulin analogues are better than intermediate acting insulin (neutral protamine Hagedorn or NPH) in providing good blood glucose control and reducing hypoglycemia. However, insulin management still has some challenges which can result in the patients' diabetes not being well controlled:

• Long acting insulin dosing irregularities and self-treated hypoglycemia are common in type 2 diabetes patients who take insulin, and impact on the patients' well-being
• Patients' lives are negatively affected by having to take long acting insulin at the prescribed time, and taking long acting insulin at the same time each day is often inconvenient

"Canadians with type 2 diabetes who take insulin, who represent approximately 15 per cent of those with type 2 diabetes, try to avoid having a hypoglycemic event, as the survey indicates that patients are missing or mis-timing their long acting insulin," says Dr. Vincent Woo, Endocrinologist at Health Sciences Centre.  "The survey findings show that there is a connection between dosing irregularities and incidents of hypoglycemia. This attempt to avoid hypoglycemic events creates an obstacle for patients to achieve optimal glycemic control and compromises the patient care being delivered."

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