Declining incidence of hypoglycaemia in diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis: A nationwide cohort study from 2003 to 2022.

Aims: Population-based studies have consistently shown that individuals with diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis (pancreatic diabetes) have a high risk of hypoglycaemia. We aimed to investigate whether this risk has declined over recent years following the introduction of modern glucose-lowering medications.

Materials and methods: In this Danish nationwide population-based cohort study, we included all adults with new-onset diabetes between 1998 and 2022 and classified them as having pancreatic diabetes, type 1, or type 2 diabetes. We examined annual incidence rates of hypoglycaemia leading to hospitalisation, trends in dispensed glucose-lowering medications, and associations with hypoglycaemia risk.

Results: Among 583 220 individuals with new-onset diabetes, 3383 (0.6%) were classified as pancreatic diabetes, 12 383 (2.1%) as type 1 diabetes, and 567 454 (97.3%) as type 2 diabetes. Comparing 2003-2006 to 2019-2022, the incidence of severe hypoglycaemia declined within each diabetes subtype: by 69% in pancreatic diabetes (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.33, 95% CI 0.25-0.40), 57% in type 1 diabetes (IRR 0.43, 95% CI 0.38-0.49), and 65% in type 2 diabetes (IRR 0.35, 95% CI 0.33-0.37). This coincided with a shift from human to analogue insulin and an increase in the use of metformin in individuals with pancreatic diabetes. Metformin use was associated with a lower risk of severe hypoglycaemia (adjusted hazard ratio 0.36, 95% CI 0.26-0.48). All types of insulin were associated with higher hypoglycaemia risk; insulin analogues carried a lower risk than human insulin.

Conclusion: Hospitalisation for hypoglycaemia in pancreatic diabetes has declined substantially over time, alongside notable changes in treatment patterns.