Metabolic control and medication adherence in people with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective  To relate adherence to oral antidiabetics and metabolic control of people with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus.

Methods  An analytical study conducted with 201 participants, of both sexes, aged over 18 years with diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cared for in the basic health units. Sociodemographic, anthropometric and clinical variables related to medication adherence and metabolic control were analyzed. Morisky’s test was used to evaluate adherence to medication therapy.

Results  Only 23.9% of the participants were considered adherents to medication treatment, showing better levels of glycated hemoglobin (p = 0.048), fasting glycemia (p <0.001), and total cholesterol (p = 0.028).

Conclusion  A relationship between adherence to oral antidiabetics and some variables of metabolic control was identified, such as glycated hemoglobin, fasting glycemia and total cholesterol. Medication adherence should be increasingly encouraged among people with Diabetes mellitus.

Patient compliance; Medication adherence; Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Biomarkers; Primary health care