Intermittent Diabetes Care and the Risk of Diabetic Kidney Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Findings from Data Analysis of Local Governmental Claims Data.

Globally, public health measures have shifted to a new stage, Public Health 3.0 (1), which emphasizes the concept of community-wide prevention. The active use of accessible data and their application to policies, particularly by local governments, are necessary to achieve this concept. In Japan, preventing the onset and exacerbation of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), one of the major diseases that necessitates dialysis, is important as the number of patients with diabetes increases (2). Many previous studies have reported a strong correlation between intermittent diabetes treatment and DKD onset and exacerbation (3). However, most studies determined the intermittent treatment status through a patient questionnaire survey, which requires both time and money and may be affected by reporting bias, recall bias, and follow-up loss. This study investigated the association between intermittent diabetes treatment and DKD onset in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using highly objective and comprehensive claims data. Herein, we defined intermittent diabetes treatment as the interruption of antidiabetic prescriptions for a certain time period.