Improved treatment satisfaction and weight-related quality of life with exenatide once weekly or twice daily1

AIMS To assess treatment satisfaction and weight-related quality of life (QOL) in subjects with Type 2 diabetes treated with exenatide once weekly (QW) or twice daily (BID). METHODS In this 52-week randomized, multi-centre, open-label study, 295 subjects managed with diet and exercise and/or oral glucose-lowering medications received either exenatide QW or BID during weeks 1-30; thereafter, subjects receiving exenatide BID were switched to exenatide QW, with 258 total subjects receiving exenatide QW during weeks 30-52. Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire-status (DTSQ-s) and Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite) were assessed at baseline and weeks 30 and 52. Mean group changes from baseline to week 30 were estimated by ancova; changes from week 30 to week 52 were assessed by Student's t-test. RESULTS Statistically significant improvements from baseline to week 30 were observed in both treatment groups for DTSQ-s and IWQOL-Lite measures, with significantly greater reduction in perceived frequency of hyperglycaemia and greater satisfaction with continuing treatment in the QW group compared with the BID group. Effect sizes for change in DTSQ-s total scores were 0.84 QW, 0.64 BID; for IWQOL-Lite: 0.96 QW, 0.82 BID. Treatment satisfaction and QOL improved significantly between weeks 30 and 52 for those switching from BID to QW. Occurrence of adverse events did not affect patients' improvements in treatment satisfaction and QOL. CONCLUSIONS Patients treated with exenatide QW or BID experienced significant and clinically meaningful improvements in treatment satisfaction and QOL. Patients who switched from exenatide BID to exenatide QW administration reported further significant improvements.