Little is known on how the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-2019) has impacted the management of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of individuals with T2DM undergoing changes in glucose-lowering therapy in 2019 and 2020.
Individuals with T2DM with at least one consultation in one of 940 general (including diabetologist) practices in Germany between January and July 2019 (N = 79 268) and between January and July 2020 (N = 85 046) were included. Therapy changes corresponded to the prescription of new glucose-lowering drugs with or without the discontinuation of previous treatments (switch and add-on therapy, respectively). The number of T2DM patients with at least one medication regimen change was calculated for the period between January 1 and March 14 and the period between March 15 and July 31 in 2019 and 2020. March 2020 corresponded to the beginning of the lockdown in Germany.
Overall, there was a decrease in the number of persons with ≥1 medication regimen change in March 15/July 312 019 compared with March 15/July 312 020 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors [DPP-4i]: -15%; sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors [SGLT2i]: -3%; glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists [GLP-1 RA]: 0%; other oral glucose-lowering drugs: -6%; and insulin: -21%).
The COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact on glucose-lowering drug use in T2DM patients in Germany. More research is warranted to further investigate the treatment and management of T2DM individuals during the COVID-19 era in Germany and elsewhere. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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