Patterns of insulin therapy and insulin daily doses in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in Germany

Aim To describe the different insulin therapy patterns and insulin daily doses in children and adolescents (aged 1-17 years) with type 1 diabetes. Methods This cross-sectional study based on the longitudinal prescription (LRx) database (IQVIA) included children and adolescents who received at least two insulin prescriptions of the same drug from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019. The study outcomes included the proportion of patients with insulin pumps and multiple daily injection therapy, human insulin and insulin analogue use, as well as insulin daily doses. A multivariable linear regression model was used to study the association between age, sex, insulin drugs, and daily dose. Results A total of 22 512 children and adolescents (mean age: 13.5 years, 47.1% female) were included. The proportion of patients using insulin pump therapy decreased with age, from 72.6% (females) and 73.0% (males) in the age group of younger than 6 years to 30.8% (females) and 26.1% (males) in adolescents. Insulin aspart was the most common short-acting insulin, with the proportion of users increasing from 56% in the age group of younger than 6 years to 69%-70% in the 13-17 years age group. The daily dose of insulin pump therapy was 10 units lower than multiple daily injection (MDI) (P < .001). Conclusion We found a marked age dependency for pump use, with a strong increase observed in the youngest age group. Insulin aspart was the most frequently used analogue insulin. A higher total daily insulin dose was shown in patients on MDI versus insulin pump, along with a significant age dependency.