Lifestyle and Medication Adherence in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in Trujillo Peru

Background: Sustained diabetes care requires attention to everyday health behaviors and medication use. Objective: To evaluate the association between lifestyle and medication adherence in adults with type 2 diabetes attending a hospital in Trujillo, Peru. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study included 208 adults who had received treatment for more than six months. Lifestyle was assessed using the 25-item IMEVID questionnaire, and medication adherence was classified as high, moderate, or low using the four-item Morisky–Green questionnaire. Categorical associations were assessed using Pearson’s chi-square test; conditional Monte Carlo tests supplemented sociodemographic comparisons with sparse categories. Results: Overall, 116 participants (55.8%) were older than 60 years and 131 (63.0%) were female. Lifestyle was classified as inadequate in 167 participants (80.3%) and adequate in 41 (19.7%). Medication adherence was high in 30 (14.4%), moderate in 74 (35.6%), and low in 104 (50.0%). Lifestyle category was associated with adherence category (p < 0.001). Associations with educational level, age group, and gender were not statistically significant (Pearson p = 0.380, 0.684, and 0.794, respectively), consistent with the conditional analyses. Conclusions: Inadequate lifestyle and low medication adherence were frequent in this hospital population. Their assessment should be integrated into diabetes follow-up, while the cross-sectional findings should not be interpreted as evidence that changing lifestyle causes improved adherence.