Factors influencing adherence towards oral hypoglycaemic agents- A cross-sectional study among patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Aims

The present study was conducted to assess the level of medication adherence and factors affecting adherence among Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods

A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out among T2DM patients who were presented to the outpatient department of general medicine. A well-designed data collection form was used to gather information pertaining to various socio-demographic and medical variables. A previously validated and translated 8-item self-reported questionnaire was used to assess the level of medication adherence. Data was analysed using SPSS Version 29.0.

Results

Among the total 369 subjects enrolled, a majority were found to be males, and the mean age of the population was observed as 56.84 ± 11.32. A total of 125 (33.8%) subjects were found to be within the category of high adherence, 161 (43.6%) subjects were found to have moderate level of adherence and 83 (22.4%) had low level of adherence. On analysis, various medical variables were found to have a statistically significant association with medication adherence.

Conclusion

The findings of the present study would form the basis for all the future implications including education intervention programmes to improve the level of adherence towards anti-diabetic medications, which ultimately results in better health outcomes.