Evaluation of treatment satisfaction, efficacy and safety of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in geriatric patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectionalcomparative study.

Introduction: Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors are attractive agents to be used in the elderly patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because of their beneficial effects.

Methods: In this cross-sectional, observational study, we evaluated and compared the treatment satisfaction using Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) in two groups (i.e., regimens containing DPP4 inhibitors vs. other regimens). Efficacy was evaluated by assessing and comparing the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values and the percentage of patients who achieved the glycemic control (HbA1c <7%). The adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were also recorded and compared among two groups.

Results: A total of 115 patients participated in the study (42 in Group 1 and 73 in Group 2). Significantly better DTSQ scores were observed among Group 1 patients in terms of DTSQ score total ( P = 0.01) and DTSQ score for perception of hyperglycemia ( P = 0.008) as compared to Group 2 patients. Significant difference was observed in HbA1c values among two groups ( P = 0.02, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06-1.14). Also, significantly higher proportion of patients had achieved glycemic control, i.e., HbA1c <7% in Group 1 as compared to Group 2 ( P = 0.002, 95% CI, 11.8%-48.1%). Significantly higher number of ADRs were observed among Group 1 patients as compared to Group 2 ( P = 0.003).

Conclusion: DPP4 inhibitors seem to offer better treatment satisfaction and efficacy in geriatric T2DM patients but at the expense of increased frequency of ADRs; however, further research is warranted.