Individualizing treatment targets for elderly patients with type 2 diabetes: factors influencing clinical decision making in the 24-week, randomized INTERVAL study

We tested the feasibility of setting individualized glycemic goals and factors influencing targets set in a clinical trial in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in 45 outpatient centers in seven European countries. 278 drug-naïve or inadequately controlled (mean HbA1c 7.9%) patients with type 2 diabetes aged ≥70 years with HbA1c levels ≥7.0% and ≤10.0% were enrolled. Investigator-defined individualized HbA1c targets and the impact of baseline characteristics on individualized treatment targets was evaluated. The average individualized HbA1c target was set at 7.0%. HbA1c at baseline predicted a target setting such that higher the HbA1c, more aggressive was the target (P