OBJECTIVES : To determine the pattern and blood glucose control of anti-diabetic medication in type 2 diabetes mellitus from 2012 to 2016 in Iran.

METHODS : This cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted among patients with T2DM in five main diabetes centers in two provinces in Iran.

Patients with at least 5 years of recorded data were included in the study. The prescribed medicines, HbA1c level, and the percentage of patients with poor, moderate and good control during the study time were extracted from the patients’ profiles.

RESULTS : A total of 842 patients were met our inclusion criteria. The prescription of all insulin products (20% to 25%), dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (0% to 3%), meglitinides (4% to 10%), and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (0% to 2%) were increased during 2012 to 2016. However, the prescription rate of metformin (46% to 40%), sulfonylureas (24% to 15%) and thiazolidinediones (6% to 5%) were reduced during the study time. Metformin was the most commonly prescribed oral blood glucose lowering agent. The proportion of the patients with good and moderate HbA1c control were increased from 27.4% to 37.9% and 59% to 72% respectively. Also the proportion of the patients with poor control (Hba1c >9%) decreased from 15% to 12%. However, these changes were not statistically significant with 95% confidence interval and P <0.05.

CONCLUSIONS : Our study showed that the pattern of administration of diabetic drugs did not change during the five years significantly and also did not have an appropriate impact on HbA1c control. This can increase the risk of micro and macro vascular complications, decreasing the quality of life of the patients and consequently imposing considerable costs to the patients and the health system. Our findings suggest that the diabetes cares in Iran need to be improved promptly and appropriately.