WHO releases recommendations for treating adults with diabetes

The World Health Organization developed these guidelines to provide guidance on selection of medicines for treatment intensification in type 2 diabetes and on use of insulin (human or analogue) in type 1 and 2 diabetes. The target audience includes clinicians, policymakers, national diabetes program managers, and medicine procurement officers. The target population is adults with type 1 or 2 diabetes in low-resource settings in low- or high-income countries. The guidelines also apply to disadvantaged populations in high-income countries.

The guideline was peer-reviewed by 6 external reviewers.

Recommendation 1:

Give a sulfonylurea to patients with type 2 diabetes who do not achieve glycemic control with metformin alone or who have contraindications to metformin (strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).

Recommendation 2:

Introduce human insulin treatment to patients with type 2 diabetes who do not achieve glycemic control with metformin and/or a sulfonylurea (strong recommendation, very-low-quality evidence).

Recommendation 3:

If insulin is unsuitable, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, a sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor, or a thiazolidinedione (TZD) may be added (weak recommendation, very-low-quality evidence).

Recommendation 4:

Use human insulin to manage blood glucose in adults with type 1 diabetes and in adults with type 2 diabetes for whom insulin is indicated (strong recommendation, low-quality evidence).

Recommendation 5:

Consider long-acting insulin analogues to manage blood glucose in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who have frequent severe hypoglycemia with human insulin (weak recommendation, moderate-quality evidence for severe hypoglycemia).