
Medication adherence to injectable glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) receptor agonists dosed once weekly vs once daily in patients with type 2 diabetes: A meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Weeda Erin R.,
Muraoka Alyssa K.,
Brock Matthew D.,
Can Jessica M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1742-1241
pISSN - 1368-5031
DOI - 10.1111/ijcp.14060
Subject(s) - medicine , dulaglutide , exenatide , dosing , type 2 diabetes , liraglutide , confidence interval , glucagon like peptide 1 receptor , meta analysis , lixisenatide , diabetes mellitus , pharmacology , endocrinology , agonist , receptor
Background Suboptimal medication adherence has been associated with increased resource utilisation and mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RAs) are becoming increasingly important in the treatment of T2D. However, medications in this class differ considerably in their dosing frequency, which may impact adherence. We sought to perform a meta‐analysis to compare adherence to injectable GLP‐1RAs dosed once weekly vs once daily in patients with T2D. Methods Medline and Scopus were searched from 1/2005 to 7/2020 using keywords and MeSH terms pertaining to adherence and GLP‐1RAs. Studies of adults with T2D were included if they compared adherence (as measured by proportion of days covered [PDC]) to injectable GLP‐1RAs dosed once weekly vs once daily. A meta‐analysis of non‐overlapping studies was performed to evaluate the primary outcome of non‐adherence, defined as the proportion of patients with a PDC < 80. Results A total of 7 studies evaluating 75 159 patients (range: 2886‐30 097) with T2D were included. The follow‐up periods of included studies ranged from 6 to 12 months. Injectable GLP‐1RAs dosed once weekly were either dulaglutide, albiglutide or exenatide extended release; while liraglutide was the injectable once daily agent evaluated in all included studies. Upon meta‐analysis, once weekly GLP‐1RA dosing was associated with an 11% lower risk of non‐adherence compared to once daily dosing (risk ratio = 0.89; 95% confidence interval = 0.83‐0.95; I 2 = 89%). Conclusion Once weekly dosing of injectable GLP‐1RAs was associated with better adherence vs once daily dosing among patients with T2D. These findings coupled with the known detrimental consequences of non‐adherence suggest that dosing frequency is an important factor to consider when selecting a GLP‐1RA.