Satisfaction and Efficacy of Switching from Daily Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors to Weekly Trelagliptin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes-Randomized Controlled Study

We compared treatment satisfaction between daily dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and a weekly DPP-4 inhibitor in patients with type 2 diabetes. The study was a 12-week, open-label, randomized, multicenter, controlled trial. Participants were Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes who had received daily DPP-4 inhibitors for more than 3 months. Patients were randomly assigned to a treatment cohort: (1) a group that continued taking daily DPP-4 inhibitors (daily group); or (2) a group that switched from daily DPP-4 inhibitors to a weekly DPP-4 inhibitor, trelagliptin (weekly group). The primary outcome was the change in treatment satisfaction levels from baseline to 12 weeks between the two groups, according to Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) and Diabetes Therapy-Related Quality of Life (DTR-QOL) questionnaire scores. The changes in glycemic control and body weight were also assessed. Of 49 patients initially enrolled in the study, 47 completed the study. The change in DTSQ scores in the weekly group was not significantly different from that in the daily group. However, the improvements in total score and subscale domains 1 and 2 in the DTR-QOL analysis, which relate to burden on social/daily activities and anxiety/dissatisfaction with treatment, were significantly greater in the weekly group than the daily group (p = 0.048, 0.013 and 0.045, respectively). Mean changes in glycated hemoglobin levels and body weight were comparable between the groups. Switching from daily DPP-4 inhibitors to a weekly DPP-4 inhibitor, trelagliptin, could partially improve treatment satisfaction levels in patients with type 2 diabetes without affecting glycemic control.