Antipsychotic drugs may worsen metabolic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Several studies have indicated that type 2 diabetes mellitus is more common among schizophrenic patients than in the general population. In this study, we investigated whether the use of antipsychotic drugs in patients with diabetes leads to worsening of glycemic control.

Method: In this cohort study, patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were selected from the PHARMO Record Linkage System, which comprises pharmacy records for all 320000 residents of 6 Dutch cities.

Antihypertensive drug therapy and the risk of lower extremity amputations in pharmacologically treated type 2 diabetes patients.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the association between different antihypertensive drug therapies and lower extremity amputations (LEAs) in type 2 diabetes patients.

Methods: Data were obtained from the PHARMO Record Linkage System comprising pharmacy records and data on hospitalisations for all 450,000 residents of eight Dutch cities. In a nested case-control study among 12,140 type 2 diabetes patients who used antihypertensive drugs, 26 cases with a first LEA and 94 controls without a LEA matched on age, sex and calendar time were identified.

Refill compliance in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a predictor of switching to insulin therapy?

Objective: To assess whether switching to insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with medication refill compliance of oral hypoglycemic agents.

Research Design And Methods: The PHARMO Record Linkage System was used as data source for this study. Patients with newly treated type 2 diabetes mellitus were defined as subjects in whom oral hypoglycemic therapy was initiated between 1991 and 1998.

Cardiovascular risk factors and diseases precede oral hypoglycaemic therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Although patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease share common risk factors, the link between these diseases remains largely unexplained. In this case-control study, the earlier use of cardiovascular drugs (before the diagnosis of diabetes) was investigated among cases with type 2 diabetes mellitus and controls without diabetes. Using the PHARMO database, we identified 4,864 patients who were prescribed oral hypoglycaemic agent (OHA) therapy between 1985-1998 in the Netherlands.