Evaluation of Low Blood Sugar Events in Participants With Diabetes (MK-0431-402)

The participant experience of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) questionnaire was used to evaluate participants' experience of hypoglycemia during the previous 6 months. Participants were asked to record whether they experienced hypoglycemia symptoms (yes/no) and to record the severity of those symptoms as mild, moderate, severe, or very severe.

At the time of enrollment, participants were asked to rate their hypoglycemic episodes in the last 6 months as mild, moderate, severe, or very severe. Participants were able to select more than one category.

Participant serum samples were collected after an overnight fast to determine the hemoglobin A1c level. Hemoglobin A1c is a measure of the percentage of glycated hemoglobin in the blood and provides an indication of participant blood glucose control in the 2 to 3 months prior to the evaluation.

The EQ-5D is a questionnaire that assesses participant quality of life in 5 domains: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Each domain has 3 levels: no problems, some problems, extreme problems for which participants are asked to self-rate their experience. The EQ-5D total score ranges from -0.171 (worst health state) to 1 (perfect health state) and 1 reflects the best outcome.

Participant health status was self-reported in 5 domains (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) and was analyzed by using visual analog scale (VAS) which records participant responses on a scale of 0 (poor health) to 100 (excellent health).

The TSQM is a treatment satisfaction questionnaire containing 14 items covering the following dimensions: side effects, effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction. Participants were asked to respond in a yes or no fashion, or by using a 5- or 7-point Likert scale. The score for each dimension ranges from 0 to 100, with a higher score expressing a better quality of life.

The self-reported adherence and barriers questionnaire to measure treatment compliance asked participants to rate their responses to 5 questions: How often do you take your diabetes medicines exactly as your healthcare provider prescribes them?; During the past 4 weeks, how often were you unsure about some of the things your doctor suggested you do for your diabetes?; During the past 4 weeks, how often were you unable to do what was necessary to follow your doctor's treatment plans for your diabetes?; During the past 4 weeks, how often were you bothered by side effects from your medicines?; and During the past 4 weeks, how often did you have problems getting your prescriptions filled? Participants responded using a scale of 1 to 5, where 1=always, 2=usually, 3=sometimes, 4=rarely, and 5=never.

Fear about hypoglycemia during 6 months prior to enrollment was evaluated using the Worry Scale of the HFS II. Responses to the 18-item questionnaire were recorded on a 0 to 4 scale, with 0=never, 1=rarely, 2=sometimes, 3=often, 4=almost always. The total score ranges from 0 to 72, with higher scores indicating increasing fear of hypoglycemia.

Participants were asked to rate their weight change experience in the 12 months prior to enrollment as: weight increased, weight decreased, or weight remained stable.

On the day of enrollment, participants were asked to rate their fear of gaining weight in the 12 months prior to enrollment using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited responses to 3 statements (I worry about gaining weight; I worry that my diabetic treatment makes me gain weight; and I worry about not being able to stabilize my weight) and relied on a scale of 0 to 4, where 0=never, 1=rarely, 2=sometimes, 3=often, and 4=almost always.