Patient-reported tolerability issues with oral antidiabetic agents: Associations with adherence; treatment satisfaction and health-related quality of life

AimsThe study's aim was to quantify prevalence of tolerability issues among patients with T2DM currently treated with OADs and to assess its association with treatment adherence, satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HRQL).MethodsData were collected from the 2006–2008 US National Health and Wellness Survey and the Ailment Panel of Lightspeed Online Research, an internet-based questionnaire. Participants (N = 2074) self-reported a diagnosis of T2DM, were >18 years of age and currently taking >1 OADs but not insulin, and spoke English.ResultsThe majority (71.7%) experienced at least 1 tolerability issue in the past 2 weeks; 49.7% experienced >2. Tolerability issues included signs/symptoms of hypoglycemia (57.2%), constipation/diarrhea (28%), headaches (25.6%), weight gain (22.9%) and water retention (21.0%). There was a significant association between the number of tolerability issues and both the likelihood of non-adherence (r = 0.20, p < 0.01) and reduced treatment satisfaction (r = −0.42, p < 0.01). Each additional tolerability issue was associated with 28% greater likelihood of medication non-adherence. Constipation/diarrhea (b = −0.02, p < 0.01) and symptoms of hypoglycemia (b = −0.08, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with lower HRQL scores.ConclusionsOptimizing OAD therapy of T2DM by improving tolerability may increase patient satisfaction, medication adherence and HRQL, and may increase the likelihood of attaining treatment goals.