Adherence to diabetes medication among diabetic patients in the Bisha governorate of Saudi Arabia – a cross-sectional survey

Figures & data

Table 1 Association between patients’ sociodemographic characteristics and adherence level to DM medication

Respondents’ characteristics	n (%) 375 (100)	Medication adherence			χ^2	P-value
		High adherence n (%)	Intermediate adherence n (%)	Low adherence n (%)
Gender					1.346	0.510
Male	196 (52.3)	74 (37.8)	84 (42.9)	38 (19.4)
Female	179 (47.7)	59 (33)	78 (43.6)	42 (23.5)
Age (years)					3.827	0.430
18–40	79 (21.1)	35 (44.3)	31 (39.2)	13 (16.5)
41–59	162 (43.2)	53 (32.7)	71 (43.8)	38 (23.5)
≥60	134 (35.7)	45 (33.6)	60 (44.8)	29 (21.6)
Residence					2.997	0.223
Rural	287 (76.5)	97 (33.8)	131 (45.6)	59 (20.6)
Urban	88 (23.5)	36 (40.9)	31 (35.2)	21 (23.9)
Education					6.260	0.618
Uneducated	136 (36.3)	44 (32.4)	63 (46.3)	29 (21.3)
Elementary	64 (17.1)	21 (32.8)	28 (43.8)	14 (23.4)
Intermediate	53 (14.1)	18 (34)	19 (35.8)	16 (30.2)
Secondary	64 (17.1)	25 (39.1)	28 (43.8)	11 (17.2)
Higher education	58 (15.5)	25 (43.1)	24 (41.4)	9 (15.5)
Marital status					5.139	0.526
Single	42 (11.2)	17 (40.5)	18 (42.9)	7 (16.7)
Married	261 (69.6)	95 (36.4)	107 (41)	59 (22.6)
Divorced	25 (6.7)	7 (28)	11 (44)	7 (28)
Widowed	47 (12.5)	14 (29.8)	26 (55.3)	7 (14.9)
Occupational status					13.390	0.037*
Student	27 (7.2)	14 (51.9)	7 (25.9)	6 (22.2)
Employed	104 (27.7)	46 (44.2)	40 (38.5)	18 (17.3)
Retired	79 (21.1)	25 (31.6)	32 (40.5)	22 (27.8)
Unemployed	165 (44)	48 (29.1)	83 (50.3)	34 (20.6)
Family income (SAR/month)					6.553	0.364
<5,000	101 (26.9)	29 (28.7)	50 (49.5)	22 (21.8)
5,000–10,000	215 (57.3)	81 (37.7)	91 (42.3)	43 (20)
10,001–20,000	49 (13.1)	17 (34.7)	19 (38.8)	13 (26.5)
>20,000	10 (2.7)	6 (60)	2 (20)	2 (20)

Note:

* Indicates statistical significance (P<0.05).

Abbreviations: DM, diabetes mellitus; SAR, Saudi Arabian Riyal.

Table 2 Association between clinical variables and medication adherence

Clinical variables	n (%) 375 (100)	Medication adherence			χ^2	P-value
		High adherence n (%)	Intermediate adherence n (%)	Low adherence n (%)
Type of diabetes					4.686	0.096
Type 1	75 (20)	34 (45.3)	25 (33.3)	16 (21.3)
Type 2	300 (80)	99 (33)	137 (45.7)	64 (21.3)
Disease duration					9.126	0.058
⩽5 years	73 (19.5)	35 (47.9)	26 (35.6)	12 (16.4)
5–10 years	162 (43.2)	59 (36.4)	71 (43.8)	32 (19.8)
⩾10 years	140 (37.3)	39 (27.9)	65 (46.4)	36 (25.7)
Current medication					21.941	⩽0.001*
OHA only	207 (55.2)	79 (38.2)	100 (48.3)	28 (13.5)
OHA + insulin	93 (24.8)	23 (24.7)	39 (41.9)	31 (33.3)
Insulin only	75 (20)	31 (41.3)	23 (30.7)	21 (28.0)
A1c %					80.475	⩽0.001*
⩽7	119 (31.7)	71 (59.7)	47 (39.5)	1 (0.8)
7–8	184 (51.7)	56 (28.9)	89 (45.9)	49 (25.3)
⩾8	62 (16.5)	6 (9.7)	26 (41.9)	30 (48.4)
Number of associated comorbidities					27.205	⩽0.001*
None	164 (43.7)	78 (47.6)	59 (36.0)	27 (16.5)
1	143 (38.1)	42 (29.4)	67 (46.9)	34 (23.8)
2	48 (12.8)	11 (22.9)	25 (52.1)	12 (25)
3	16 (4.3)	2 (12.5)	10 (62.5)	4 (25)
≥4	4 (1.1)	0 (0)	1 (25)	3 (75)

Note:

* Indicates statistical significance (P<0.05).

Abbreviations: A1c, glycated hemoglobin; OHA, oral hypoglycemic agent.

Table 3 Patients’ self-reported adherence to diabetic medications according to the MGLS

Item no	Questions		Frequency (n)	Percentage
Q1	Do you ever forget to take your diabetic medication?*	Yes	204	54.4
		No	171	45.6
Q2	Are you careless at times about taking your diabetic medication?*	Yes	128	34.1
		No	247	65.9
Q3	When you feel better, do you sometimes stop taking your diabetic medication?*	Yes	92	24.5
		No	283	75.5
Q4	Sometimes if you feel worse when you take your diabetic medication, do you stop taking it?*	Yes	91	24.3
		No	284	75.7

Note:

* Negatively worded question.

Abbreviation: MGLS, Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale.

Figure 1 The frequency and percentages of respondents according to MGLS score.

Abbreviation: MGLS, Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale.

Figure 2 The frequency and percentage of patients in each MGLS category.

Abbreviation: MGLS, Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale.

Table 4 Multivariable analysis of the association between adherence level and sociodemographic and clinical factors among patients with diabetes

Variables	Estimate	SE	P-value
Gender
Female vs male	0.003	0.005	0.511
Age (years)
<60 vs ≥60	−0.005	0.006	0.401
Residence
Rural vs urban	0.079	0.056	0.161
Education
Uneducated vs other	−0.094	0.061	0.125
Marital status
Single/widow/divorced vs married	0.019	0.056	0.728
Occupation status
Employed vs other	−0.087	0.061	0.150
Family income
Low vs lower-middle/upper-middle/high	0.048	0.054	0.368
Type of disease
Type 1 vs type 2	−0.135	0.082	0.103
Disease duration
<5 vs ≥5	−0.078	0.062	0.210
Current medication
OHA + insulin vs OHA	−0.096	0.078	0.217
OHA + insulin/insulin vs OHA	0.055	0.08	0.491
Insulin vs OHA	0.104	0.08	0.213
Insulin vs OHA + insulin/OHA	0.003	0.104	0.972
A1c %
<7 vs ≥7	−0.328	0.051	<0.0001*
Associated comorbidities
None vs ≥1	−0.203	0.06	0.0037*
≥2 vs 1	−0.101	0.067	0.134

Note:

* Indicates statistical significance (P<0.05).

Abbreviations: A1c, glycated hemoglobin; OHA, oral hypoglycemic agent; SE, standard error.