Use of Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire in Diabetes Care: Importance of Patient-Reported Outcomes

Abstract

The efficacy of diabetes treatment should not be evaluated solely by HbA1c levels as they should also focus on patient-reported outcomes (PROs), such as patient satisfaction, wellbeing and quality of life. The Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) has been developed to assess patient satisfaction with diabetes treatment. DTSQ has been translated into more than 100 languages and is widely used in many countries, since it is relatively easy to answer and is used for both patients with and without medical therapy. Novel therapeutic options, such as insulin analogs, incretin-based therapy and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, have been shown to improve patient satisfaction using DTSQ for assessments. DTSQ is not only used for comparisons between different medications or treatment strategies, but also can be used to assess the quality of diabetes care in clinical settings. This is important as an improvement in treatment satisfaction may enhance patients' self-efficacy and adherence to therapy, leading to the achievement of long-term stable glycemic control and reduced risk of diabetic complications. In this review, we summarize the current topics in DTSQ, introducing our own experience, and discuss the role of PROs in diabetes treatment.

Keywords: ceiling effect; patient-reported outcome; quality of life; treatment satisfaction.

Figure 1

Factors associated with treatment satisfaction and expected effects from its improvement on clinical outcomes.