4 ms·

> In the United States, prescriptions to 18- to 49-year-olds with type 2 diabetes grew from fewer than 2200 in 2000 to 768,000 in 2015. What the hell… that has

• TylerE 5y ago
  Despite being used in Europe since the '50s, Metformin wasn't introduced in the US until 1995.
  • Gatsky 5y ago
    Ah right, that is surprisingly late, and would likely explain the numbers.
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• lmkg 5y ago
  It's an increase in a particular treatment for a disease, which is only a contingent proxy for the disease itself. A change on that scale could plausibly be explained by a change in the standard approach to treatment or diagnostic criteria. Wouldn't be surprised if insurance played a role somehow.
• steanne 5y ago
  that doesn't say that diagnoses increased that much, just that this particular drug has become a much more popular way to treat it.
• refurb 5y ago
  Treatment guidelines change all the time. Last time I checked metformin is now the the 1st drug therapy for type II diabetes and even "pre-diabetes". It's basically "oh, your blood sugar might be an issue, let's start with metformin" where in the past it was "lets try a bunch of others things and just watch your levels for a bit"
  • alistairSH 5y ago
    This. I have a few family members who struggle with blood sugar levels. Their doctors are quick to turn to pills instead of lifestyle/diet and monitoring. Likely because lifestyle/diet changes are hard and not very successful. Most of them have managed to adapt and deal without the pills, but it does take regular monitoring and they're all still borderline (pre-diabetic, I think is the term).