Identification of Education Models to Improve Health Outcomes in Arab Women with Pre-Diabetes

Few evaluations of interventions to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Saudi Arabia (SA) have been undertaken. The present study evaluates the impact of a 6-month intensive lifestyle modification intervention delivered in primary care. Females from SA with prediabetes, aged 18–55 years, were recruited with 190 participants eligible following screening and randomly allocated to receive a 3-month one-on-one, intensive lifestyle modification (intervention group (IG) n = 95) or standard guidance (control group (CG) n = 95). Participants completed questionnaires including demographic, dietary and physical activity data. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months. A total of 123 (74 IG (age 40.6 ± 9.8 years; body mass index (BMI) 31.2 ± 7.0 kg/m²) and 49 CG (age 40.6 ± 12.7 years; BMI 32.3 ± 5.4 kg/m²)) participants completed the study. After 6 months, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c; primary endpoint) significantly improved in the IG than CG completers in between-group comparisons (p < 0.001). Comparison between groups showed significant improvements in overall energy intake, total and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol in favour of IG (p-values < 0.001, 0.04 and <0.001, respectively). BMI and weight change were not clinically significant in between group comparisons. A 6-month, intense one-on-one intervention in lifestyle modification significantly improves glycaemic and cardio metabolic profile of females living in SA with pre-diabetes delivered in a primary care setting. Longer duration studies, using the same intervention, may determine whether a meaningful weight loss secondary to improved diet can be achieved.

Association between medication adherence and quality of life of patients with diabetes and hypertension attending primary care clinics: a cross-sectional survey

PURPOSE

To evaluate the association between medication adherence and quality of life (QoL) of patients with diabetes and/or hypertension attending primary care clinics.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients with at least one long-term condition (hypertension or diabetes mellitus) meeting the eligibility criteria were recruited from five primary care clinics in Saudi Arabia. Arabic version of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) tool were used to assess medication adherence and QoL, respectively. Patients' sociodemographic, medical and medication data were collected using a structured, pilot-tested data collection form.

RESULTS

Three hundred patients with a mean (± SD) age of 56.79 (12.8) years participated in the study. Fifty-eight had hypertension only, 96 had diabetes (Type 1 or 2), and 146 had both hypertension and diabetes. After adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics, multiple linear regression analysis found that adherent patients had significantly higher mean overall perception of QoL and health scores by 14.6 (P = 0.001) and 17.2 (P = 0.001) points, respectively, compared to non-adherent patients. In addition, irrespective of the type of long-term condition, adherence status was found to be an independent predictor of all QoL domains.

CONCLUSION

There is an association between medication adherence and QoL among patients with diabetes and/or hypertension attending primary care clinics. Medication adherence should be assessed and emphasised during routine clinical consultations in primary care in order to achieve the desired clinical outcomes and overall well-being of patients.

Factors associated with medication adherence among patients with diabetes in the Middle East and North Africa region: A systematic mixed studies review

Multiple systematic reviews were conducted investigating factors associated with medication adherence worldwide. However, investigations from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region were largely underrepresented in those reviews. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review is to identify the factors influencing medication adherence among patients with diabetes in the MENA region. A systematic literature search was conducted through Cochrane Library, EBSCO, EMBASE, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, SCOPUS, and ProQuest. Studies were included if they determined factors associated with medication adherence among patients with diabetes within the MENA region. Quality was assessed using Crow Critical Appraisal Tool. Thirty primary studies from 10 MENA countries were included. The factors associated with medication adherence were categorized into demographics-related; disease- and medication-related; perception, attitude and psychological feelings-related; and societal-related factors. Positively associated factors included knowledge about the disease and medications, regular follow-up visits, and patients' positive beliefs about effectiveness and motivations about medications, while negatively associated factors included forgetfulness, side effects, and polypharmacy. Factors associated with medication adherence among patients with diabetes in the MENA region are highly diverse. The identified factors can serve as potential targets for culturally-relevant interventions to improve medication adherence and overall health outcomes.

Quality of diabetic care in an urban slum area of Mysore: A community based study

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Community based cross sectional study was conducted in an urban slum of Mysore. Data was collected between July and August 2011. Known diabetics residing in this area were included in the study. Socio-demographic information of diabetic patients, history, physicians advice and the extent of compliance of patients towards treatment were assessed. Descriptive statistics, like percentages were calculated.

RESULTS

Study comprised of 104 patients. Mean fasting and post prandial blood glucose was 163±70mg/dl and 239±89mg/dl respectively. Common co-morbid conditions were hypertension and obesity. Key process indicators of care, indicated that adherence to medication advice was maximum and less than one fourth of them had an annual Hba1c and lipid profile examinations.

CONCLUSIONS

To prevent long term complications associated with diabetes, doctors must adhere to the guidelines. There is a need to improve the health system, in terms of developing facilities to provide annual eye examination, annual lipid profile, urea, creatinine testing for diabetic patient.

Dietary practice and associated factors among type 2 diabetic patients: a cross sectional hospital based study, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background

Dietary management which is considered to be one of the cornerstones of diabetes care is based on the principle of healthy eating in the context of social, cultural and psychological influences on food choice. In Ethiopia, there is lack of data on the dietary practice of diabetic patients which underestimates its role in the management of diabetes. Hence, this study assesses the level of dietary practices and their associated factors among Type 2 diabetic patients in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods

Institution-based cross-sectional quantitative study design was employed. A total of 403 study subjects were included in the study. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data. The collected data were entered into Epi Info version 3.5.3 and exported to SPSS version 20.0 software packages for further statistical analysis. The data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. The degree of association between dependent and independent variables was assessed using the odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and variables with p-value ≤0.05 were considered significant.

Results

About 46.4% of the patients were overweight and obese. More than half of the respondents (58.8%) had FBG level ≥ 126 mg/dl. The level of dietary practice among 207 (51.4%) type 2 diabetic patients was poor. Not getting nutrition education in hospitals [AOR = 4.47, 95% CI: (1.92,10.40)], despondency [AOR = 2.15, 95% CI: (1.14,4.02)], facing difficulty to choose foods [AOR = 9.66, 95% CI: (5.12,18.24)], non- availability of fruits and vegetables [AOR = 2.78, 95% CI: (1.03,7.54)], thinking about the high cost of foods [AOR = 2.36,95% CI: (1.18, 4.70)] were the factors significantly associated with the poor dietary practice.

Conclusion

Findings of this study indicated that the majority of the patients had poor dietary practice. Therefore, the integration of diabetic based nutrition education with motivation and home gardening is highly recommended.

Factors associated with nonadherence to diet and physical activity among Nepalese type 2 diabetes patients; a cross sectional study

Background

Nonadherence to diet and physical activity is a major problem in the management of diabetes mellitus and its complications. This study was undertaken to measure the factors associated with nonadherence to diet and physical activity advice among Nepalese type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among type 2 diabetic patients (age, M ± SD, 54.4 ± 11.5 yrs) and interviewed using three days recall method for dietary history and Compendium of Physical Activity for physical activity. Data were analysed by univariate and multivariate statistics.

Results

Out of 385 patients, 87.5% were nonadherent and 12.5% poorly adherent to dietary advice. 42.1% were nonadherent, 36.6% partially adherent while 21.3% good adherent to physical activity. Adherence to dietary advice was higher in males than females (M ± SD, 33 ± 16.7 vs 27 ± 15.5, p = 0.001), those staying nearer to hospital than farther (M ± SD, 32 ± 18.6 vs 28 ± 13.5, p = 0.013), those advice by physician than others (p = 0.001) and from nuclear family than joint and extended (p = 0.001). With increasing age, dietary advice adherence decreased (p = 0.06) and was positively correlated with the knowledge about diabetes mellitus (r = 0.115, p = 0.024). Physical activity adherence was higher in those with positive family history of diabetes than others (M ± SD, 74 ± 24.2 vs 65 ± 23.6, p = 0.001), upper middle socioeconomic class respondents than lower ones (p = 0.047) and from extended family than nuclear or joint ones (p = 0.041). Divorced were more nonadherent to physical activity than married and widowed patients (p = 0.021).

Conclusions

Determinants of nonadherence to dietary advice: Female gender, increasing age, joint or extended family members, farther distance from hospital, poor knowledge about diabetes mellitus and advice by others than physicians. Determinants for nonadherence to physical activity: negative family history of DM, divorced status, lower socioeconomic class.

Barriers to the delivery of optimal antidiabetic therapy in the Middle East and Africa

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide, but developing nations will bear a disproportionate share of this burden. Countries in the Middle East and Africa are in a state of transition, where marked disparities of income and access to education and healthcare exist, and where the relatively young populations are being exposed increasingly to processes of urbanisation and adverse changes in diet that are fuelling the diabetes epidemic. Optimising diabetes care in these nations is crucial, to minimise the future burden of complications of diabetes.

METHODS

We have reviewed the barriers to effective diabetes care with special relevance to countries in this region.

RESULTS

The effects of antidiabetic treatments themselves are unlikely to differ importantly in the region compared with elsewhere, but economic inequalities within countries restrict access to newer treatments, in particular. Values relating to family life and religion are important modifiers of the physician-patient interaction. Also, a lack of understanding of diabetes and its treatments by both physicians and patients requires more and better diabetes education, delivered by suitably qualified health educators. Finally, sub-optimal processes for delivery of care have contributed to a lack of proper provision of testing and follow-up of patients in many countries.

CONCLUSION

Important barriers to the delivery of optimal diabetes care exist in the Middle East and Africa.

A systematic review of adherence to cardiovascular medications in resource-limited settings

BACKGROUND

Medications are a cornerstone of the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease. Long-term medication adherence has been the subject of increasing attention in the developed world but has received little attention in resource-limited settings, where the burden of disease is particularly high and growing rapidly. To evaluate prevalence and predictors of non-adherence to cardiovascular medications in this context, we systematically reviewed the peer-reviewed literature.

METHODS

We performed an electronic search of Ovid Medline, Embase and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts from 1966 to August 2010 for studies that measured adherence to cardiovascular medications in the developing world. A DerSimonian-Laird random effects method was used to pool the adherence estimates across studies. Between-study heterogeneity was estimated with an I(2) statistic and studies were stratified by disease group and the method by which adherence was assessed. Predictors of non-adherence were also examined.

FINDINGS

Our search identified 2,353 abstracts, of which 76 studies met our inclusion criteria. Overall adherence was 57.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 52.3% to 62.7%; I(2) 0.98) and was consistent across study subgroups. Studies that assessed adherence with pill counts reported higher levels of adherence (62.1%, 95% CI 49.7% to 73.8%; I(2) 0.83) than those using self-report (54.6%, 95% CI 47.7% to 61.5%; I(2) 0.93). Adherence did not vary by geographic region, urban vs. rural settings, or the complexity of a patient's medication regimen. The most common predictors of poor adherence included poor knowledge, negative perceptions about medication, side effects and high medication costs.

INTERPRETATION

Our study indicates that adherence to cardiovascular medication in resource-limited countries is sub-optimal and appears very similar to that observed in resource-rich countries. Efforts to improve adherence in resource-limited settings should be a priority given the burden of heart disease in this context, the central role of medications in their management, and the clinical and economic consequences of non-adherence.

Adherence and satisfaction with oral hypoglycemic medications: a pilot study in Palestine

OBJECTIVES

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic progressive disease characterized by numerous health complications. Medication adherence is an important determinant of therapeutic outcome. Few studies on medication adherence have been published from the Arab countries. Therefore, the objective of this pilot study was to assess hypoglycemic medication adherence and its association with treatment satisfaction.

SETTING

Military Medical Services clinic in Nablus, Palestine.

METHODS

This is a cross sectional descriptive study. A convenience sample of 131 diabetic patients was studied. The 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication were used to assess adherence and treatment satisfaction, respectively. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used for statistical analysis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Level of adherence, treatment satisfaction and association between adherence and treatment satisfaction among diabetic patients.

RESULTS

According to MMAS-8, 50 patients (38.5%) had a high adherence, 58 (44.6%) had a medium adherence and 22 (16.9%) had a low adherence rate. The mean scores of satisfaction domains were 71 ± 17.6 and 95 ± 16.4 for effectiveness (EFF) and side effects (SE), respectively. Adherence score was a positively and significantly correlated with EFF satisfaction domain (P < 0.01) and age (P = 0.01). Similar significant correlation was found between adherence level and duration of illness (P = 0.047). However, adherence was not significantly associated with gender (P = 0.2), number of hypoglycemic medications (P = 0.5) or SE satisfaction domain (P = 0.2).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The majority of diabetic patients in this pilot study were non-adherent. Improving patients' treatment satisfaction will improve treatment adherence.

Measuring the rate of therapeutic adherence among outpatients with T2DM in Egypt

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The promotion of therapeutic adherence is considered as an integral component of pharmaceutical care practice and patient healthcare. It has been shown that despite effective methods of treatment, 50% of diabetic patients fail to achieve satisfactory glycemic control, which leads to accelerated development of complications and increased mortality. Clinical experience indicates that no improvement of metabolic control is possible without patients' adherence to medications. This study sought to examine the rate of medication adherence and different factors affecting it among Type 2 diabetic patients in Egypt.

METHODS

A total of 226 Type 2 diabetic patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were recruited in the current study. Adherence to the treatment was evaluated during patients' hospitalization in the Outpatient Clinics of Internal Medicine Department at University of Mansoura, Egypt. The medication adherence has been assessed during a personal interview with each patient using a multiple-choice graded questionnaire.

RESULTS

In the study population, the adherence rates to medication, dietary/exercise and appointment were observed to be suboptimal. The most important social factors that were significantly affecting adherence rate to the prescribed oral hypoglycemic agent(s) included marital status (P < 0.01), family support (P < 0.01), and socio-economical level (P < 0.01). Other patient factors that were significantly affecting therapeutic adherence were patient knowledge about the disease (P < 0.01), patients' beliefs and motivation about prescribed drugs (P < 0.01), and regularity of patients' self monitoring of blood glucose level (P < 0.01). Among drug factors which found to affect significantly the rate of medication adherence are the number of drugs taken (P < 0.05), complexity of drug regimen (P < 0.01), and the presence of drug side effects (P < 0.01). Economical factor played an equally important role. Direct and indirect care costs in relation to patients' income were significantly affecting the rate of adherence to medication (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

An improvement with the adherence to oral hypoglycemic agent(s) may be achieved through continuing patient education about diabetes, improvement of patients' economical levels as well as a reduction in the cost of medication. Pharmaceutical companies have to be involved and pharmacists have to be payed for helping chronically ill patients to take their medicines correctly for improving clinical outcomes.