Once-daily Xultophy® (insulin degludec/liraglutide) was a better option to manage diabetes compared to multiple daily injections of insulin (basal-bolus regimen). This was reported by people with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar was not controlled on insulin glargine U100 with metformin, and who completed quality-of-life questionnaires as part of the DUAL VII clinical trial.
In addition, more people preferred to stay on Xultophy® compared with basal-bolus therapy (84.5% versus 68.1%). These results were presented today at the 2017 International Diabetes Federation Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
“Adding insulin injections at mealtime is an effective option to achieve desired blood glucose levels when basal insulin is not enough, but this raises the level of complexity in the patients’ daily management of their diabetes. It can also lead to an increased risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or weight gain”, said Professor Esteban Jódar, University Hospital Quirón Salud, Madrid, Spain.
“In the main analysis of the DUAL VII trial, Xultophy® delivered similar glucose reductions to a basal-bolus regimen alongside weight loss, as opposed to weight gain, and fewer episodes of hypoglycemia. We now see that it also reduces treatment burden.”
In the patient-reported outcomes (PRO) analysis from the DUAL VII clinical trial, 506 adults living with type 2 diabetes assessed their physical health, mental health and a number of diabetes-specific factors. These scores were measured using the validated Treatment-Related Impact Measure-Diabetes (TRIM-D) questionnaire and the Short Form Health Survey 36 v2 (SF-36).
The participants in the study treated with Xultophy® reported better experiences for all diabetes-specific factors compared to the ones in the basal-bolus treatment regimen, with the highest improvement in TRIM-D scores given for diabetes management (16.7 versus 6.8), treatment burden (12.4 versus 4.3) and compliance (9.1 versus 3.9).
The analysis of the SF-36 questionnaire results found that Xultophy® was associated with a statistically significant higher score compared to basal-bolus insulin regimen for the mental health component of the questionnaire; all other comparisons were non-significant.
