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The present article is a recommendation of the Austrian Diabetes Association for the practical use of insulin in type 2 diabetes, including the various insulin regimens.

Hypertension is one of the most important comorbidities of diabetes, contributing significantly to death and leads to macrovascular and microvascular complications. When assessing the medical priorities for patients with diabetes, treating hypertension should be a primary consideration. In the present review practical approaches to hypertension in diabetes, including individualized targets for preventing specific complications are discussed according to current studies and guidelines. According to recent studies, blood pressure values of about 130/80 mm Hg are associated with the best outcome. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers are the most effective drugs for treating hypertension in diabetes. Calcium antagonists or diuretics are acceptable as second-line agents. Once the target is achieved, antihypertensive drugs should be continued. Newer antidiabetic medications such as SGLT-2-inhibitors or GLP1-receptor agonists have also antihypertensive effects.

This guideline summarizes diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, including accompanying autoimmune disorders, insulin therapy regimens and glycemic target values.

Recent epidemiological investigations have shown that approximately 2-3% of all Austrians suffer from diabetes with renal involvement, i. e. 250,000 people in Austria are affected. The risk of occurrence and progression of this disease can be ameliorated by life style interventions as well as optimization of blood pressure, blood glucose levels and special drug classes. The present article represents the joint recommendations of the Austrian Diabetes Association and the Austrian Society for Nephrology for the diagnostics and treatment strategies of diabetic kidney disease.

Blood pressure lowering is one of the most important interventions for reducing the vascular complications and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. Recent studies indicate that the optimal blood pressure level might be in the range between 130-140 mmHg systolic and 80‒90 mmHg diastolic. Lower blood pressure levels (e.g. 120/80 mmHg) can further reduce the risk for stroke and diabetic nephropathy, but are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. In particular, very low blood pressure levels ( 120 mmHg) should be avoided in patients with coronary heart disease or peripheral arterial disease. Most patients with diabetes mellitus need antihypertensive combination therapies, whereby ACE-inhibitors or Angiotensin-II receptor antagonists should be first line drugs.

Hyperglycemia contributes to morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. Thus, reaching treatment targets with regard to control of glycemia is a central goal in the therapy of diabetic patients. The present article represents the recommendations of the Austrian Diabetes Association for the practical use of insulin according to current scientific evidence and clinical studies.

Hyperglycemia significantly contributes to micro- and macrovascular complications in patients with diabetes mellitus. While lifestyle interventions remain cornerstones of disease prevention and treatment, most patients with type 2 diabetes will eventually require pharmacotherapy for glycemic control. The definition of individual targets regarding optimal therapeutic efficacy and safety is of great importance. In this guideline we present the most current evidence-based best clinical practice data for healthcare professionals.

Recent epidemiological evaluations have shown that approximately 5% of all Austrians suffer from diabetes including renal involvement, i. e. 400.000 people in Austria are affected. The risk of start and progression of this disease can be ameliorated by lifestyle interventions as well as optimization of blood pressure and glucose levels. The present article represents the joint recommendations of the Austrian Diabetes Association and the Austrian Society for Nephrology for the prevention and treatment of diabetic kidney disease.

Hyperglycemia significantly contributes to micro- and macrovascular complications in patients with diabetes mellitus. While lifestyle interventions remain cornerstones of disease prevention and treatment, most patients with type 2 diabetes will eventually require pharmacotherapy for glycemic control. The definition of individual targets in regard of optimal therapeutic efficacy and high therapeutic safety is of great importance. In this guideline we present the best and most current evidence-based clinical practice data for healthcare professionals.

Diabetes mellitus is the leading single cause for renal replacement therapy. Its development and progression, however, can be ameliorated by adequate therapy. The present article represents the recommendations of the Austrian Diabetes Association and the Austrian Society for Nephrology for the prevention and treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

Blood pressure lowering is one of the most important interventions for reducing the vascular complications and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. Recent studies indicate that the optimal blood pressure level might be in the range between 130-135 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg diastolic. Lower blood pressure levels (e.g. 120/80 mmHg) can further reduce the risk for stroke and diabetic nephropathy, but are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. In particular very low blood pressure levels (120 mmHg) should be avoided in patients with coronary heart disease or peripheral arterial disease. Most patients with diabetes mellitus need antihypertensive combination therapies, whereby ACE-inhibitors or Angiotensin-II receptor antagonists should be first line drugs.

Diabetes Care Austria was a nationwide data acquisition of type 2 diabetes treatment at Austrian general practitioners. A total of 5,385 general practitioners were contacted in the end of 2009; finally, 101 agreed to participate in the data collection. Out of all 9 Austrian provinces, a cross-sectional sample of 1.513 type 2 diabetic patients was investigated. Demographic data, diabetes treatment, quality of diabetes control as well as micro- and macrovascular complications were analysed with respect to diabetes duration, categorised into 6 classes. A total of 1.513 type 2 diabetic patients with a mean age of 65.4 ± 10.7 years and a mean diabetes duration of 8.7 ± 7.3 years were analysed. Metformin was equally used in more than 50% of patients in all classes of diabetes duration. The use of sulfonylureas was significantly (p0.001) increased from 25% in patients with a diabetes duration of less than 3 years to more than 40% in subjects with a disease duration of longer than 15 years. The prescription of glitazones was significantly (p = 0.02) augmented with increasing diabetes duration. DPP-4 inhibitors were used in more than 5% of patients with a maximum of 13% in subjects with a diabetes duration of 4-9 years (p0.001). The mean HbA1c was below 7.5% in all classes and was significantly (p0.01) the lowest with 7.0 ± 1.2% in patients with the shortest diabetes duration when compared to all other categories. Diabetes Care Austria yielded representative data for diabetes therapy of type 2 diabetic patients treated by general practitioners. Diabetes treatment was successful, as proven by a mean HbA1c value of 7.2%. An insulin therapy was initialised late, but was nevertheless effective as shown by comparable HbA1c values in patients with a diabetes duration of 4 to more than 15 years.

Hypertension is a highly prevalent comorbidity of diabetes mellitus. It contributes substantially to morbidity and mortality in those patients. The present article represents the recommendations of the Austrian Diabetes Association for the treatment of hypertension in diabetic patients according to current scientific evidence.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major health problem associated with excess morbidity and mortality. Defects in the action and/or secretion of insulin are the two major abnormalities leading to development of glucose intolerance. Any intervention in the impaired glucose tolerance phase that reduces resistance to insulin or protects the beta-cells, or both, should prevent or delay progression to diabetes. The natural history of type 2 diabetes includes a preceding period of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)/impaired fasting glucose (IFG) which provides an opportunity for targeted intervention within large communities. As the prevalence of this metabolic disorder is rapidly increasing and current treatment fails to stabilise the disease in most patients, prevention should be considered as a key objective in the near future. Lifestyle intervention studies have consistently shown that quite modest changes can reduce the progression from IGT to diabetes by 50-60%. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) randomised trial has shown that a combined program of weight loss, improvement of diet and increase of physical exercise lowers the risk for development of type 2 diabetes by 58% compared with placebo. It may, however, not be possible to translate these successful findings to larger cohorts or maintain the lifestyle changes longer term. This has lead to consideration of pharmacotherapy. Benefits have been found for metformin, acarbose and troglitazone. Treatment with metformin was less effective than lifestyle modifications, resulting in an average reduction of risk for development of type 2 diabetes by 31% compared with placebo. Similarly, acarbose in the STOP-NIDDM trial reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in patients with IGT by 25%. Remarkably, cardiovascular event rates, in particular myocardial infarction, were significantly reduced when acarbose was used instead of placebo in subjects with glucose intolerance. The ACE inhibitors captopril (CAPPP) or ramipril (HOPE) and the Angiotensin-II receptor antagonist losartan (LIFE) have been shown to reduce the appearance of diabetes by one third when given to patients with hypertension. Since many hypertensive patients are insulin-resistant and have an increased risk in developing type 2 diabetes, the protective effect of these classes of antihypertensive drugs might be explained by their antiinsulin-resistance effects.