EVALUATION OF MEDICATION ADHERENCE AMONG DIABETICS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN LAHORE, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a concerning and amongst the leading health issue these days. Poor adherence to medication regimen can cause adverse health outcomes so therapeutic goals are stapled with patient adherence. No study on medication adherence of diabetic patients have been published from Lahore yet so this study was conducted to check whether diabetic patients adhere to their medications or not. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was used to check adherence. A sample size of 432 patients was taken. Patients were interviewed and the consent was taken prior to interview. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was employed for statistical analysis where required. Adherence level was compared against multiple factors such as education, age and gender. Results: Out of 432 diabetic patients, 178 (41.2%) patients have low adherence, 186 (43.1%) patients have medium adherence, and 68 (15.7%) have high adherence. Conclusions: In Lahore, a major population of diabetics were non-adherent.