Medication Adherence and Associated Factors Among Type II Diabetic Patients in East Azerbaijan, Iran

ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the factors contributing to non-adherence to medication and nonmedication treatments among diabetic patients.

Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in family medicine clinics in Tabriz, Northwest of Iran, from May-September of 2018. The Persian version of the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale was used to assess the adherence to treatment, and a validated questionnaire was used to determine the factors influencing non-adherence to treatment. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression modeling.

Results: A total of 320 diabetic patients were included in this study with a mean age of 58.1±13.7 years, with 36.2% males and 63.8% females. Of the patients, 0.9%, 14%, and 85% of patients had high, moderate, and low adherence to medication, respectively. In univariate logistic regression, the factors that associated with high adherence to treatment were female gender, living alone, living in urban, lacking insurance, and having diabetic complications. In contrast, in multivariate logistic regression, only two factors associated with high adherence to treatment, namely, living alone (odds ratio, 3.29; 95% confidence interval: 1.44– 7.94) and unemployment odds ratio, 0.085; 95% confidence interval: 0.008–0.9).

Conclusion: Adherence to treatment in our study population was suboptimal. Our study population specified the lack of places for physical activity and difficulty in maintaining diet as major barriers for adherence to treatment. We also identified occupation and living arrangement to be predictive factors for adherence to treatment.