Primary care diabetesSep 4, 2026

Use of combined basal insulin and GLP-1 drugs in Asians with type 2 diabetes

GLP-1 Therapies Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Sep 5, 2026

Abstract

People with type 2 diabetes in Asia often experience common features such as low body mass index and rapid decline in insulin secretion.

Type 2 diabetes in Asian populations is characterized by young age at diagnosis and low pancreatic beta-cell capacity.
Despite receiving standardized care in clinical trials, Asians exhibit a higher risk of chronic kidney disease compared to non-Asians.
Older individuals with diabetes, especially those with long disease duration and complications, may benefit from insulin and GLP-1 receptor agonists for better cardiovascular and renal health.
The use of fixed-dose combinations like basal insulin and GLP-1 receptor agonists could enhance safety, effectiveness, and adherence to treatment.
Efficacy and safety data from randomized controlled trials indicate that iGlarLixi, a fixed-ratio combination, is well-studied in Asian populations.

Simplified

People with type 2 diabetes in Asia have heterogeneous phenotypes but share common features of young age-at-diagnosis, low body mass index, low pancreatic beta-cell capacity, rapid decline in insulin secretion as well as visceral and ectopic fat excess. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of mortality in people with diabetes. In clinical trial settings, despite receiving protocol-driven care, Asians had higher risk of chronic kidney disease than non-Asians. Aging and improved survival in people with diabetes continue to drive the epidemic of diabetes. People with old age, long disease duration and complications might benefit from both insulin to optimize glucose control and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) for cardiovascular-renal protection. Complex therapies pose challenges in administration and adherence where fixed-dose combination such as basal insulin plus GLP-1 RA may improve safety, effectiveness and acceptability. In this narrative review, we summarized the efficacy and safety data from randomized controlled trials using iGlarLixi, a fixed-ratio combination of insulin glargine 100 U/mL (iGlar) and lixisenatide (Lixi), a short acting GLP-1 RA, studied widely in Asians. We discussed the guidelines on the use of this fixed-ratio combination illustrated by real-world case studies in older Asian adults with young-onset type 2 diabetes.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Use of combined basal insulin and GLP-1 drugs in Asians with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the glp-1 therapies brief