Patient Characteristics Associated With Medication Adherence to Anti-Diabetic Drugs

The aim of the present study was to assess the patient characteristics associated with medication adherence to anti-diabetic drugs. This observational, cross sectional study was conducted from January 2016 to June 2016 among patients attending at endocrine outpatient department of the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital and Medicine outpatient department of the Community Based Medical College Hospital, after obtaining requisite consent from the patients. Once the consultation by the physician was over, the patients were interviewed. Medication adherence was assessed through the specific four questions patient questionnaire, the modified morisky medication adherence scale that has high reliability and validity and the patient was considered to be highly adherent if he or she answered in the negative to all four questions (score-0). All filled questionnaires on the pattern of medication adherence to anti-diabetic drugs were entered into the computer for subsequent analysis using SPSS method version 20.1. Male patients had shown high rate of adherence than female. Elderly patients were more adherent. Urban patients had shown higher rate of adherence compared to rural. Patients with higher secondary education and businessman had higher compliance. Improved medication adherence was seen in patients with diabetes mellitus for long duration (>10 years). Our results had shown that therapeutic adherence was significantly affected by different patient - centered factors like age, educational status, employment status, and place of residence.