Use of non-insulin antidiabetic drugs in children and young adults - A Scandinavian drug utilization study from 2010-2019.

Jensen HK, Rasmussen L, Furu K, Karlstad Ø, Linder M, Cesta CE, Pottegård A

Br J Clin Pharmacol 87 (11) 4470-4475 [2021-11-00; online 2021-04-28]

Knowledge on utilization patterns of non-insulin antidiabetic drugs in childhood and youth is limited. Therefore, we conducted a population-based drug utilization study using publicly available aggregate data on use of non-insulin antidiabetics from 2010 to 2019 in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) in individuals aged up to 24 years. For each non-insulin antidiabetic drug, we calculated the annual prevalence proportion of users, overall and for specific age groups. From 2010 to 2019, the prevalence of non-insulin antidiabetic users in Scandinavia increased 37% from 0.43 to 0.59/1000 individuals. The prevalence proportions were highest among female adolescents and young adults, but the largest relative increase in use was seen among 10-14-year-olds (78%). Metformin was by far the most widely used non-insulin antidiabetic drug with a prevalence proportion of 0.51/1000 in 2019, followed by glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues, which, however, showed an eight-fold relative increase during the study period.

PubMed 33871080

DOI 10.1111/bcp.14867

Crossref 10.1111/bcp.14867