Suboptimal adherence to daily growth hormone treatment increases with treatment duration, and risk of discontinuation is associated with age, female gender, Black or Hispanic race/ethnicity, and obesity, according to a study published in Current Medical Research and Opinion. Researchers evaluated adherence to, and discontinuation of, somatropin treatment for more than 4 years in a US population-based study of children with pediatric growth hormone deficiency (pGHD). They conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of commercially insured patients aged 3 and older and younger than 16, diagnosed with pGHD, and newly treated with somatropin. They used Optum De-identified Clinformatics Data Mart. Index date was defined as the first prescription for somatropin between July 1, 2002, and September 30, 2019. Five non-exclusive patient cohorts were identified (>3, 12, 24, 36, and 48 months of post-index continuous enrollment). Suboptimal adherence was defined as medication possession ratio less than 80%. Discontinuation was defined as the date at which a gap of more than 60 days between somatropin fills first occurred. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate time to discontinuation. The study group found that the proportion with suboptimal adherence at months 12 and 48 was 19.6% and 35.9%, respectively. Strategies that facilitate adherence among children at risk of discontinuation may improve clinical outcomes, the study’s authors wrote.

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