Predictors of persistence and adherence to deutetrabenazine among patients with Huntington disease or tardive dyskinesia.

INTRODUCTION: Deutetrabenazine is approved for treatment of Huntington disease (HD)-related chorea and tardive dyskinesia (TD) in adults. Factors associated with deutetrabenazine persistence and adherence are not well understood.

METHODS: Claims data from the Symphony Health Solutions Integrated Dataverse (2017-2019) were analyzed to identify real-world predictors of deutetrabenazine persistence and adherence in adults with HD or TD in the United States. Predictive models for persistence and adherence that considered patient demographics, payer type, comorbidities, treatment history, and health care resource use were developed.

RESULTS: In HD, use of anticonvulsants (HR = 2.00 [95% CI = 1.03, 3.85]; P  < .05), lipid-lowering agents (2.22 [1.03, 4.76]; P  < .05), and Medicaid versus Medicare insurance (2.27 [1.03, 5.00]; P  < .05) predicted persistence, whereas only comorbid anxiety disorders predicted discontinuation (0.46 [0.23, 0.93]; P  < .05). Of these patients, 62.5% were adherent at 6 months. Use of ≤2 treatments for chronic diseases (OR = 0.18 [95% CI = 0.04, 0.81]; P  < .05) and Medicaid versus Medicare insurance (0.27 [0.09, 0.75]; P  < .05) was associated with lower odds of adherence. In TD, use of lipid-lowering agents (HR = 4.76 [95% CI = 1.02, 20.00]; P  < .05) predicted persistence, while comorbid schizoaffective disorder and/or schizophrenia (0.16 [0.14, 0.69]; P  < .05) and sleep-wake disorders (0.18 [0.04, 0.82]; P  < .05) predicted discontinuation. Of these patients, 46.7% were adherent at 6 months. Comorbid schizoaffective disorder and/or schizophrenia was associated with lower odds of adherence (OR = 0.26 [0.07, 0.91]; P  < .05).

DISCUSSION: Identifying factors predictive of discontinuation and/or nonadherence to deutetrabenazine may facilitate the development of personalized support programs that seek to improve outcomes in patients with HD or TD.