Treatment satisfaction in postmenopausal women suboptimally adherent to bisphosphonates who transitioned to denosumab compared with risedronate or ibandronate.

CONTEXT: For many patients, adhering to postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment is a challenge. Higher treatment satisfaction is associated with greater persistence with these therapies, which is associated with better outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the change in treatment satisfaction in postmenopausal women who were suboptimally adherent to daily or weekly oral bisphosphonates and who transitioned to denosumab vs a monthly oral bisphosphonate.

DESIGN AND

SETTING

Pooled data of outpatients from two international, multicenter, randomized, open-label studies were analyzed.

PATIENTS: Postmenopausal women (n = 1703) age 55 years or greater with low bone mineral density who were suboptimally adherent with prior oral bisphosphonate therapy, as assessed by the Osteoporosis-Specific Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, were included in the study.

INTERVENTIONS: Patients received denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody to receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand, 60 mg s.c. every 6 months vs the oral bisphosphonates ibandronate or risedronate, 150 mg once monthly for 12 months.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in treatment satisfaction scores from baseline to months 6 and 12 were measured using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM). The TSQM is a validated tool that measures perception of four domains of treatment satisfaction: effectiveness, side effects, convenience, and global satisfaction.

RESULTS

Patients in both treatment groups showed improvement from baseline for all four TSQM domains at 6 and 12 months. However, the denosumab group had significantly (all P < .001) greater improvements among all four TSQM domains at 6 and 12 months compared with the oral bisphosphonate group.

CONCLUSIONS

Women with low adherence to oral bisphosphonates reported greater treatment satisfaction when transitioned to denosumab vs switching to a monthly oral bisphosphonate.