Abstract
The prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing in China. When diabetes is uncontrolled, it generates dire consequences for health and well-being. Numerous studies have shown that health outcomes were associated with social support and medication adherence. Previous study confirmed that social support was associated with medication adherence in patients with heart failure, HIV diseases, and first-episode psychosis. However, the relationship between social support and medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is remains unclear. This study aims to examine whether social support is associated with medication adherence in patients with T2DM. This study was conducted in the First Affiliated Hospital of the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In Beijing, a systematic random sample of 412 patients with T2DM over 18 years was recruited at baseline, and demographic characteristics, clinical data and their assessment of social support were collected from medical records and self-reported questionnaires. 330 of these patients completed a self-report measure of medication adherence at the sixth month after baseline data collection. Regression analysis showed that social support presented a positive effect on medication adherence, additionally, support utilization and the subscale of social support exhibited a significantly strong influence on medication adherence in patients with T2DM. Although medication adherence was influenced by multiple factors, this finding confirmed that social support must be recognized as a core element in interventions aimed at improving in the management of patients with T2DM.
Highlights
The prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing in China
The results showed that a significant difference in term of social support scores existed between the low medication adherence group and high medication adherence group (t = −2.11, p = 0.036)
Further study should be conducted to investigate the relationship between social support and objective medication adherence. This may be the first study to explore the relationship between social support and medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China
Summary
The prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing in China. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, almost of 10% of all adults in China—about 110 million people—currently live with diabetes [1]. Studies on diabetes in China reported that diabetes patients tend to have inadequate glycemic control [2]; only 41.1% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were found to have glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 7.0% (
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