Changes in Quality of Life for Schizophrenia Outpatients Receiving the Muscarinic Agonist KarXT: Findings of a Qualitative Interview-Based Study

KarXT is a novel treatment that does not directly block dopamine D2 receptors. A new drug application for KarXT was recently accepted by the FDA to treat schizophrenia in adults. As KarXT has a different pharmacodynamic profile than available dopamine receptor antagonists, a qualitative study was conducted to evaluate participants’ perceived changes in quality of life (QoL) attributed to KarXT.
This substudy was included in a long-term safety and efficacy study (NCT04820309) of outpatients with schizophrenia who were invited to join up to 2 online qualitative interviews (~6 and 26 weeks after starting KarXT). External researchers used a study-specific interview guide tailored to each timepoint, probing into physical, emotional, role, and social functioning. Impacts present since study entry were re-evaluated for change at both data collection timepoints.
Seventy participants (mean age 47.9 years, 75.7% male) completed an initial interview and 47 returned at follow-up. At study entry, most participants reported impacts across QoL domains, including physical (95.7%), social (85.7%), role (80.0%), and emotional functioning (74.3%). Most participants perceived improvements in each respective domain by follow-up, notably related to energy level (86.7%), family relationships (76.9%), activities of daily living (91.0%), and feelings of depression/sadness (78.9%).
Most participants described improvements in their QoL in at least 1 domain, starting within 6 weeks of treatment (85.7% improved, 12.9% unchanged, 1.4% worsened). For those who completed 2 interviews, most continued to improve for up to 6 months afterward.