Health-related quality of life in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus starting with new glucose lowering drugs: An inception cohort study

Aims: To assess baseline and change after 26-weeks in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) initiating one of the new glucose lowering drugs (GLD) in daily practice. Methods: Inception cohort of patients who initiated one of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP-4), glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues (GLP-1) or sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors (SGLT2) drugs. A baseline questionnaire collected socio-demographic and self-reported clinical data. HRQoL was assessed by the Euroqol-5D. Participants were divided into: (1) incident new users (INU) (who used for the first time one of the monitored GLD and had no current or prior experience with DPP-4/GLP-1/SGLT2) and (2) prevalent new users (PNU) (who had previously used at least one GLD of the monitored drug classes, but not the inception drug). Multivariate regression explored factors associated with a meaningful change in HRQoL. Results: 1303 patients. Over 26 weeks, a mean positive change in the EQ-5D scores, were observed. No differences between INU and PNU were found. Participants with worse health conditions (e.g. presence and number of chronic diseases, obese) at baseline were more likely to experience larger improvements in HRQoL. Conclusions: Over 26-weeks, T2DM patients starting with, or switching to new GLD maintained or modestly increased their HRQoL.