Patterns of remission in type 2 diabetes: A cohort study in primary care

Purpose

Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that is predominantly managed in primary care. It is traditionally considered as a life-long illness, but our recent work has shown that remission is achievable through modest weight loss. Remission is defined as a state of temporary cure in which blood sugar levels are below the level used to diagnose the disease. People will move in and out of states of remission over the long course of diabetes. However, it is unclear how often remission is achieved or how long this state needs to be maintained in order to impact long term health problems.

Aim

To count the number of people with remission in a large sample of people with type 2 diabetes, describe patterns of remission over time and then test these to see if they are linked to long-term health issues.

Methods

We will use an electronic database of routinely collected records over seven years from 108 000 people with type 2 diabetes across 105 UK GP practices. We will describe and group together similar patterns of remission over time. This will be followed by statistical modelling to see if patterns of remission are linked to long-term health issues such as the risk of a heart attack, stroke, amputation or death.

Implication

This work builds on our previous study on remission of type 2 diabetes. If we can now understand how often or how long people with diabetes need to maintain remission to improve long-term health, it will permit more informed discussions with doctors and nurses, and could motivate patients towards specific goals to cure diabetes at least for a period of time.