Treatment satisfaction in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 treated with intensified insulin therapy with insulin analogues

Abstract

The outcome of diabetes treatments can and should be evaluated through the patients’ treatment satisfaction. The aim of this study was to examine the patients’ satisfaction with the therapy with human insulin analogues compared with previous treatment with human insulin.

We have evaluated patient satisfaction in patients with T1DM in our institution who were currently on IIT with human insulins. We performed testing with standard World Health Organization Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (WHO DTSQ) before and after the therapy with insulin analogs.

Overall DTSQ score in forty-nine patients after the third month of therapy and after the sixth month of therapy is higher than before the initiation of therapy (p<0.001). The results of the responses on the perception of hyperglycaemia were lower after three months of therapy (p<0.05) and after the six months of treatment than before the onset of therapy (p<0.01). There were no differences in the perception of hypoglycaemia after three months but perception of hypoglycaemia after the sixth month of treatment was lower than before the onset of the therapy (p<0.001) and compared to the score after the third month of therapy (p<0.01).

Therapy of T1DM patients with insulin analog aspart over three months led to an increase in satisfaction with therapy and a reduction of the perception of hyperglycaemia. Therapy of T1DM patients with insulin analogues (aspart and glargine) over three months led to an increase in satisfaction with therapy and a reduction of the perception of both hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia.