Frequency of Missing Dose of Anti-Diabetic Medications and its Impact on Blood Glucose Levels Among Patients of Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of missed medications and its association with glycemic control among patients of diabetes mellitus.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Outpatient Department of Medicine, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan, from January 2022 to June 2022. Patients with type-1 or type-2 diabetes mellitus who visited the outpatient department and had a disease duration of at least six months were included in the study. Participants might be either gender and ranged in age from 18 to 70. Along with sociodemographic information, characteristics of diabetes mellitus were recorded including fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, kinds of DM, drugs used, and family history of DM. All patients' frequency of missing diabetic mellitus prescription doses was also assessed.

Results: In a total of 230 patients of DM, 148 (64.3%) were male. The mean age was a 45.00±12.48 year. Family history of diabetes was present in 113 (49.1%) patients. There were 215 (93.5%) patients who had type 2 DM while remaining 15 (6.5%) were type-1 DM. Mean duration of DM was 7.63±7.6 years. It was found that 105 (45.7%) patients were using both oral and insulin. It was noted that 30 (13.0%) patients were missing their DM medications daily, 43 (18.7%) most frequently, 21 (9.1%) frequently and 54 (23.5%) missed their DM medications/dosages occasionally. It was observed that statistically significant differences existed for blood glucose parameters and frequency of missed medications (p<0.0001).

Conclusion: Vast majority of diabetes mellitus patients were found to miss their anti-diabetic medications. Missed medication frequency was significantly linked with higher blood glucose levels.