Insulin degludec: Effects on Quality of Life in Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Maintaining quality of life, which is markedly restricted in people with diabetes, is an important therapy goal. The BEGIN (TM) trial programme on insulin degludec (IDeg) prospectively documented quality of life using the Short-Form 36 version 2 questionnaire (SF-36V2). Methods: This contribution presents the effects on quality of life in a meta-analysis of three phase 3 studies and one extension study on IDeg in insulin-naive patients with type 2 diabetes. The meta-analysis included 1 290 patients treated with IDeg and 632 patients treated with Insulin glargin 100 U/ml (IGlar). Results: Both IDeg and IGlar saw a significant improvement in the physical sum score compared to baseline findings with the results significantly favouring IDeg (+0.66; 95% Cl: 0.04-1.28; p < 0.05), especially in the physical pain and vitality subscales. Only IDeg patients had a significant improvement in the psychological sum score vs. baseline. The mean physical sum score in the ONCE LONG study on 104 weeks of treatment was 1.1 points higher for IDeg (95% Cl: 0.1-2.1; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Possible explanations for differences in quality of life between IDeg and IGlar 100 U/ml include the lower number of episodes of nocturnal hypoglycaemia and less pain. Additional health service research studies should go into more detail on possible positive influencing factors of IDeg on quality of life.