Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Oct 15, 2021; 12(10): 1740-1749
Published online Oct 15, 2021. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v12.i10.1740
Medication adherence and quality of life among type-2 diabetes mellitus patients in India
Rakhi Mishra, Suresh K Sharma, Rajni Verma, Priyanka Kangra, Preeti Dahiya, Preeti Kumari, Priya Sahu, Priyanka Bhakar, Reena Kumawat, Ravinder Kaur, Ravinder Kaur, Ravi Kant
Rakhi Mishra, Suresh K Sharma, Rajni Verma, Priyanka Kangra, Preeti Dahiya, Preeti Kumari, Priya Sahu, Priyanka Bhakar, Reena Kumawat, Ravinder Kaur, Ravinder Kaur, College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Uttarakhand 249203, Rishikesh, India
Ravi Kant, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Uttarakhand 249203, Rishikesh, India
Author contributions: Mishra R, Sharma SK, Kant R designed and coordinated the study; Verma R, Kangra P, Dahiya P, Kumari P, Sahu P, Bhakar P, Kumawat R, Kaur R, Kaur R acquired and analyzed data; Mishra R, Verma R, Kangra P, Dahiya P, Kumari P, Sahu P, Bhakar P, Kumawat R, Kaur R, Kaur R interpreted the data; Mishra R, Sharma SK, Kant R wrote the manuscript; All authors approved the final version of the article.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at AIIMS, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Rakhi Mishra, MSc, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Virbhadra Road Shivaji Nagar, Near Barrage, Uttarakhand 249203, Rishikesh, India. mishrarakhi92@gmail.com
Received: February 16, 2021
Peer-review started: February 16, 2021
First decision: March 30, 2021
Revised: April 7, 2021
Accepted: July 16, 2021
Article in press: July 16, 2021
Published online: October 15, 2021
Processing time: 238 Days and 18.1 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a progressive metabolic disorder that has become a significant public health burden that demands immediate global attention. However, there is a paucity of data on adherence to antidiabetic drugs by patients with type-two (T2)DM in Uttarakhand, India. Current research in outpatients has shown that more than 50% of patients do not adhere to the correct administration and appropriate dosage of antidiabetic medications. It has been reported that patients with chronic diseases who adhere to treatment may experience improvement in quality of life (QoL) and vice versa.

Research motivation

DM is a progressively increasing metabolic disorder that has become a significant public health burden and demands immediate global attention. The paucity of data on adherence to antidiabetic drugs by patients with T2DM in Uttarakhand, India prompted this study.

Research objectives

The study was conducted to assess the adherence to antidiabetic medications and QoL in patients with T2DM.

Research methods

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Uttarakhand, India. The Medication Adherence Rating Scale and World Health Organization QoL-BREF scale were used to assess medication adherence and QoL.

Research results

A group of 277 outpatients with T2DM participated in the study. Their mean age was 50.80 ± 10.6 years, 155 (56%) had poor, and 122 (44%) had good antidiabetic medication adherence. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, multiple linear regression analysis found that patients who were adherent to antidiabetic medications had significantly a higher overall mean perception of QoL and health, with beta scores of 0.36 and 0.34 points, respectively (both P = 0.000) compared with nonadherent patients.

Research conclusions

Adherence to medications by patients with T2DM was correlated with QoL. Hence, there is a need to plan and implement awareness and counseling programs followed by regular follow-up to motivate patient adherence to recommended treatment and lifestyle regimens.

Research perspectives

Many research articles have been published about the epidemiology, complications, therapies, comparisons of treatments, and healthcare strategies for DM. The literature shows that patient adherence to antidiabetic medications and QoL are interrelated. Patients with diabetes who adhere to their treatment can experience an improvement in QoL and vice versa. This study focused on (1) adherence to antidiabetic medications and QoL in T2DM; (2) finding the relationship between adherence to antidiabetic medications and QoL; and (3) determining the association between adherence to antidiabetic medications and QoL and selected demographic variable.