title: Assessment of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with metformin-sulfonylurea combination: Results of a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study in Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the current status of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea for >3 months, as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on patient demographics, diabetic complications, HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and type of treatment were collected in this multicenter, cross-sectional, non-interventional study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From April 2008 to February 2009, 5,628 patients were recruited from 299 centers in Korea. Patients characteristics (mean ± SD) were as follows: age 58.4 ± 10.8 years, duration of diabetes 6.1 ± 4.7 years, body mass index 24.7 ± 2.9 kg/m(2), HbA1c 7.77 ± 1.22%, FBG 147.4 ± 46.5 mmol/L and FPG 164.0 ± 54.3 mmol/L. The most common diabetic complication was neuropathy (22.5%), followed by retinopathy (18.3%) and microalbuminuria (16.1%). Just 1,524 (27.1%) patients achieved HbA1c ≤7%. A higher number of patients (32.6%) treated by endocrinologists achieved HbA1c ≤7% than those treated by internists (24.4%) and primary care physicians (23.2%). In multivariate analyses, diabetic retinopathy (odds ratio 0.455, 95% confidence interval 0.341-0.606), nephropathy (odds ratio 0.639, 95% confidence interval 0.43-0.949), diabetes for ≥5 years (odds ratio 0.493, 95% confidence interval 0.4-0.606) and older age added by 1 year (odds ratio 1.019, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.029) was significantly associated with achieving target HbA1c. In addition, treatment by endocrinologists rather than internists significantly increased chances of achieving target HbA1c (odds ratio 1.417, 95% confidence interval 1.146-1.751).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of patients with type 2 diabetes in Korea had inadequate glycemic control, despite receiving a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sin Gon
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Ryeal
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hahm
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Dong-A University College of Medicine Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Duk Kyu
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Changwon Fatima Hospital Masan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Rae
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Seop
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Choi
keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Metformin; Sulfonylurea