Insulin detemir results in less weight gain than NPH insulin when used in basal-bolus therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus, and this advantage increases with baseline body mass index.

OBJECTIVE

Weight gain during insulin therapy can be a challenging problem in already overweight type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, affecting treatment compliance and long-term prognosis. The analogue insulin detemir has been reported to have a weight-sparing effect compared with other basal insulins. This pooled analysis investigated whether this potential advantage is related to body mass index (BMI) when insulin detemir is used as the basal component of basal-bolus therapy.

METHODS

Data were pooled from two randomised, parallel group trials of 22 and 24 weeks' duration, in which 900 insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus had their treatment intensified to basal-bolus therapy. Patients received once- or twice-daily insulin detemir or neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin in conjunction with insulin aspart or human soluble insulin at meal times.

RESULTS

Patients treated with insulin detemir had minimal weight gain (mean <1 kg), regardless of their BMI at entry (estimated slope -0.032), whereas, in patients treated with NPH insulin, weight gain increased as baseline BMI increased (estimated slope 0.075, p = 0.025). Indeed, NPH insulin-treated patients with the largest BMI (>35 kg/m(2)) gained the most weight (mean of ~2.4 kg). In contrast, insulin detemir-treated patients with a BMI >35 kg/m(2) lost weight (mean of ~ -0.5 kg). Glycaemic control was similar with the two treatments.

CONCLUSION

Insulin detemir may provide a clinical advantage in terms of reduced weight gain in the treatment of overweight patients with type 2 diabetes.