Background: Adherence to prescribed medication is essential for glycemic control and to delay the onset of complications. However, information on medication adherence among patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus is sparse in Bangladesh. This study aimed to determine medication adherence and factors associated with low adherence in patients with Type 2 diabetes in Bangladesh.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 consecutive patients with Type 2 diabetes attending a tertiary hospital in Bangladesh between September 2013 and July 2014. Data were collected on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, medication use and adherence, and blood tests for glycated hemoglobin. Medication adherence was assessed using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (score range 0-8), and a score < 6 was defined as low adherence. Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to investigate factors associated with low medication adherence. Results: The mean age ± standard deviation of the participants was 50.2 ± 10.2 years (56.2% females). Overall, 42.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 38.5-47.2) of This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.