A Cross-Sectional Study Assessing Medication Adherence to Diabetes Mellitus Treatment Among Adults in A Tertiary Care Hospital in the National Capital Region, Delhi

Introduction: India has earned the dubious distinction of being the diabetic capital of the world. Poor adherence to diabetes treatment is common now a days that can lead to severe health complications and is related to increased morbidity and mortality. Keeping this in mind, the present study had been planned to assess medication adherence to diabetes mellitus treatment among adults in a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients attending the outpatient department of tertiary care hospital from October 2022 to September 2023 on 320 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (T2DM) using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used for statistical analyses. Results: In 320 study subjects, the mean age came out to be 43+12.5 years. Prevalence of poor adherence was found to be 62% (95% confidence interval = 58.2-69.3). The average MMAS score came out to be 4.22. Of the total 320 diabetic patients, around 50.3% (161) came into low, 25.6% (82) in medium, and 24.1% (77) were in high adherent group respectively. Age, education, tobacco, alcohol consumption and suffering from any other chronic illness had significant effects on the adherence to treatment of T2DM. Conclusion: Poor adherence to diabetes was found. Adherence to medication needs to be improved for better control and management of disease.