Impact of Introducing Basaglar Insulin to the Treatment Regimen of Youth With Diabetes in Pakistan

Evaluating the Impact of Introducing Basaglar, a Long-acting Analog Insulin, on Clinical and Quality of Life Outcomes in Youth With Diabetes in Pakistan

This study aimed to determine the effect of introducing Basaglar and insulin pen injection devices on clinical and quality of life (QOL) parameters in children and young adults with type 1 diabetes in Pakistan

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Type 1 Diabetes
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: biosimilar insulin glargine

Detailed Description

Analog insulins are widely used in middle- and high-income countries. However, use of analog insulin remains limited in lower-income countries due to their increased cost and lack of access, and human insulin remains the mainstay of treatment in these settings.

Long-acting (basal) analog insulin such as glargine have the benefit of a longer duration (up to 24 hours) and a minimal peak action, and generally, only one injection per day is required. Although glargine insulin has been shown to reduce the risk of overnight hypoglycemia, consistent improvement in blood glucose control (measured by HbA1c) when compared to human insulin has not been shown, and its impact on quality of life is also inconclusive. Furthermore, these studies have all been done in highly resourced countries.

Life for a Child (LFAC) provides diabetes supplies (insulin, syringes, meters and strips for blood glucose self-monitoring), diabetes-related education, mentoring and technical support to the team managing youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) managed at Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE) in Karachi, Pakistan. In 2022, LFAC commenced supplying Basaglar (glargine) insulin with insulin pen devices (HumaPen Ergo ll). This provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effect of introducing glargine (Basaglar) insulin in the low resource setting of Pakistan.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 296
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Sindh
    • Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, 74600
      • Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes according to a combination of clinical (polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss) and biochemical characteristics (High blood glucose levels (fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL or random glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL) and/or C-peptide levels indicating low insulin production, along with the presence of islet autoantibodies (e.g., GAD65, IA-2))
• Duration of T1D ≥ 12 months at time of enrolment
• Willing to conduct self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) at least twice daily
• No prior use of analog insulin (either long-acting or short-acting)
• Attending BIDE for their routine diabetes care and management
• No history of other significant medical conditions (e.g., severe renal disease or other autoimmune conditions)
• Willing to adhere to the study protocol, including attending follow-up visits and participating in the required education sessions

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Prior use of analog insulin
• Other medical conditions that would interfere with study participation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Introduction of Basaglar to insulin treatment regimen; Switched to once daily injection of biosimilar insulin glargine via reusable pen and three mealtime bolus insulin injections of short-acting human insulin via needle and syringe	Drug: biosimilar insulin glargine; Switched to once daily injection of biosimilar insulin glargine via reusable pen and three mealtime bolus insulin injections of short-acting human insulin via needle and syringe; Other Names: Basaglar

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Proportion of participants experiencing episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis	Diabetic ketoacidosis was defined as hyperglycaemia (BGL>11mmol/L/200mg/dL) with a venous pH<7·3 or serum bicarbonate <15mmol/L and ketonaemia and ketonuria	Baseline, 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month follow-up visits
Proportion of participants experiencing episodes of severe hypoglycaemia	Severe hypoglycaemia was defined as an event with severe cognitive impairment (with or without coma and convulsions) requiring assistance by another person to administer carbohydrates, glucagon, or intravenous dextrose to restore glycaemia	Baseline, 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month follow-up visits
Mean and median HbA1c (% and mmol/mol)	HbA1c was measured at each study time point using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC (BIO-RAD, D10))	Baseline, 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month follow-up visits

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Diabetes Quality of Life for Youth scale - Short Form (DQOLY-SF)	The 21- item Diabetes Quality of Life in Youth - Short Form scale [1] was administered to participants to assess their health-related quality of life after the change in their insulin treatment regimen. Each item has 5 possible scores with a value from 0 to 4, with 0 representing "never" and 4 "all the time". Higher scores represent a higher impact of diabetes and a poorer quality of life; lower scores indicate greater quality of life. The highest possible score is 84 (21 x 4 i.e. "all the time" for all 21 items) and lowest possible score is 0 (21 x 0 i.e. "never" for all 21 items)	Baseline, 6- and 12-month follow-up visits

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participant self-reported satisfaction	A 5-item structured questionnaire was administered to participants in the intervention group to evaluate their satisfaction with the new insulin regimen, experience of using reusable insulin pens, and their experience of hypo- and hyperglycaemic episodes over the study period	12-month follow-up visit

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Life for a Child Program, Diabetes Australia
• Collaborators: Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Prof. Asher Fawwad, Baqai Insitute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 9, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 15, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): August 2, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 1, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): December 4, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 30, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 28, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Type 1 diabetes; Pakistan; Children and Adolescents; Analog insulin; Basaglar; insulin pen-devices
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Endocrine System Diseases; Metabolic Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Immune System Diseases; Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Hypoglycemic Agents; Insulin Glargine
• Other Study ID Numbers: PROF.DR.FAWWAD/006/08/22/0157

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Due to local privacy regulations, individual de-identified participant data will not be shared

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: Yes