Medication adherence and its predictors among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: A cross-sectional study

Medication adherence is vital in managing noncommunicable diseases like diabetes. Illness perception and an individual's knowledge regarding the disease may influence medication adherence. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of medication adherence among type 2 diabetic patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 diabetes mellitus patients attending an outdoor patient department (OPD) of a tertiary care hospital in North India. Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) were used to study medication adherence and illness perception, respectively. Descriptive and analytic statistics were computed using Epi Info software for Windows (CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA). The prevalence of medication adherence was 79.5% (82/400). The odds of medication adherence increased with higher age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.8 [1.1-2.9]) and more duration of illness (OR = 1.8 [1.0-3.2]) Patients having good knowledge of diabetes were more likely to adhere to medications. [OR=1.8(1.1-3.1). Diabetes medicine-adherent patients had a higher perceived understanding of the disease, felt having lesser negative consequences, and were less concerned about the illness than their counterparts. A high proportion adhered to diabetes medication. The guiding factors to further improve medication adherence are age, duration of illness, illness perception, and knowledge regarding the disease.