Turkish cross-sectional survEy of glycemic and other metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes in 2023: Comparison with 2018 nationwide data (TEMD-2 study)

Aim: Five years after the first “Turkish nationwide survEy of glycemic and other Metabolic parameters of patients with type 2 Diabetes” (TEMD-1), attainment of glycemic, arterial blood pressure (ABP), and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) goals was re-investigated in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with an additional focus on therapeutic inertia. Methods: This cross-sectional study consecutively enrolled patients from 70 tertiary endocrine centers across Türkiye (November 2022–January 2023). Metabolic targets were HbA1c <7% (<53 mmol/mol), home ABP <135/85 mmHg, and risk-stratified LDL-C <55, <70, or <100 mg/dL (<1.4, <1.8, or <2.6 mmol/L). Thera peutic inertia was defined as failure to intensify treatment at enrollment. Results: Among the 4956 participants (mean age: 58.9 ± 10.0 years, women: 59.8%), HbA1c, ABP, LDL-C and triple metabolic control target attainment rates were 36.7%, 71.1%, 8.7%, and 2.8%, respectively. Glycemic control rate was found lower than the previous survey (40.0% vs. 36.7%, p < 0.001), while LDL-C control rate improved (7.0% vs. 8.7%, p = 0.002). Patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) showed worse outcomes, with triple metabolic control rate of 1.6%. The rate of severely uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c >9%/ 75 mmol/mol) was 23.6%. Therapeutic inertia was observed by 33.5%, persisting uniformly across subgroups. Younger age, male sex, longer diabetes duration, lower socioeconomic status, and microvascular complications were independently associated with poor glycemic control. Conclusions: Metabolic control remains suboptimal in Turkish T2DM patients, and one-third of patients with severe hyperglycemia showed therapeutic inertia. Systematic interventions and intensified strategies are ur gently needed to improve diabetes outcomes and treatment inertia (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT06347445).