The evaluation of the medication adherence in patients with diabetes mellitus

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common disorder, causing undesirable medical and economic consequences. Effective treatment of DM is very important to avoid complications. Non adherence to treatment is one of the major problems of physicians. Several studies have concluded that medication adherence among type 2 DM patients is unsatisfactory. A simple, reliable and validated self-report instrument could lead a better understanding of non adherence and may lead up to new treatment modalities. Methods: We included 300 patients who had diagnosis DM at least 1 year ago and applied to Internal Medicine policlinics at Gaziantep University School of Medicine. Morisky Medication Adherence Scale was peformed with demographic data of the patients. Blood samples for HbA1c were taken from all patients. Results: Statistically significant negative correlation was noted between HbA1c and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (r: -0,189, p<0,001). Statistically significant relation was pointed between who the patient lives with, when patient got diagnosis, whether the patient informed about the disease, type of the treatment, whether the patient goes routine controls, whether patient takes care of diet and HbA1c (respectively; p:0,04, p<0,001, p<0,001, p<0,001, p:0,09). Mean of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale score was 6,043. This score showed us a moderate adherence to treatment among the patient population. Conclusions: Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and HbA1c can be used in diabetics as a scale to evaluate treatment adherence.