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INTRODUCTION: Understanding patient preferences for attributes of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) medications may help explain how the attributes differentially affect patient perceptions and behaviors. In this survey, we quantified the relative preferences among patients in Germany and Spain in separate analyses. METHODS: A stated-preference, discrete-choice experiment (DCE) survey was designed to elicit preferences for T2DM treatment attributes among patients with self-reported T2DM and who reported being prescribed T2DM medication for > 2 years. Patients recruited from an online national consumer panel completed an online survey. The survey presented choices between eight pairs of hypothetical T2DM treatments defined by seven attributes: chance of reaching target hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level; reduced risk of serious heart attack or stroke; frequency of hypoglycemia; risk of gastrointestinal (GI) problems; weight change; mode of administration (oral or injectable); dosing frequency. Data were analyzed using random-parameters logit. Minimum acceptable benefit (MAB) was defined as the minimum increase in the probability of reaching target HbA1c for which respondents would accept less desirable levels of other attributes. RESULTS: In Germany and Spain, 474 and 401 respondents completed the survey, respectively. DCE analysis showed that risk of GI problems was most important to German respondents. MAB analysis found that respondents would require a 56 percentage point increase in the probability of reaching their HbA1c target to offset a change from 0% to 30% risk of GI problems. For Spanish respondents, mode of administration was the most important attribute. These respondents would require a 59 percentage point increase in the probability of reaching their HbA1c target to offset moving from oral to injectable medications. CONCLUSIONS: Respondents in Germany and Spain were willing to trade efficacy for improvements in side effects and mode of administration. Given the variety of T2DM medications currently available, the results suggest that careful discussion about patient preferences could help improve patient satisfaction with T2DM treatment.
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OBJECTIVE: The impact of migraines on patients is commonly divided between the level of impairment associated with headache symptoms (headache phase) and the quality-of-life effects immediately following the headache (post-headache phase). Evaluations of migraineurs' productivity losses and health-related quality of life have provided an understanding of the burden associated with the headache and post-headache symptoms, but do not quantify the relative importance of each phase from a patient perspective. In this study, we evaluated migraineurs' willingness to accept trade-offs among symptom severity in the headache and post-headache phases, symptom duration in the headache and post-headache phases, and symptom-free time within a general-preference theoretic framework. METHODS: We administered a choice-format, conjoint-analysis survey, also called a discrete-choice experiment, to a sample of migraineurs from a nationally representative online consumer panel. After inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, 510 eligible subjects completed the survey. The survey elicited choices between pairs of migraine profiles describing symptom durations and symptom-free time for the headache and post-headache phase. RESULTS: Migraineurs in our study were strongly affected by the pain associated with the headache phase. However, experiencing difficulty with daily social and family activities in the post-headache phase also had a statistically significant impact on migraineurs' perceived level of well-being. Migraineurs reported that hypothetical treatments that limited the duration of headache symptoms without allowing them to resume their daily activities for 16 hours after a headache, on average, were less than half as good as treatments that limited both headache and post-headache symptoms. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that treatments that relieve and shorten symptoms during the post-headache phase can offer significant benefits to migraineurs.