이정아1, 박경미1, 선우성1, 양윤준2, 서영성3, 송상욱4, 김병성5, 김영식1

1울산대학교 의과대학 서울아산병원 가정의학과, 2인제대학교 의과대학 일산백병원 가정의학과, 3계명대학교 의과대학 동산의료원 가정의학과, 4가톨릭대학교 의과대학 성빈센트병원 가정의학과, 5경희대학교 의과대학 경희의료원 가정의학과


Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most important chronic diseases in public health, thus optimal management of this condition is crucial. For this purpose, oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) are commonly prescribed with their consistent use being mandatory to maintain adequate blood glucose levels. We aimed to evaluate the compliance with OHA in patients with DM, and to determine the factors associated with compliance.
Methods: From March 2006 to December 2007, we enrolled patients with type 2 DM who were newly diagnosed or had discontinued OHAs for more than four weeks. For OHA, diamicron was prescribed to the participants and response to medication was evaluated by physicians after 12 weeks. Compliance was defined as patients taking diamicron continuously or stopping the medication due to well-controlled blood sugar levels. Demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, fasting glucose, and lipid profiles were collected and analyzed.
Results: The mean age of our 326 subjects was 56.0±9.9 years and 74.5% was defined to be compliant. Logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and sex revealed that combined medication use (odd ratio [OR], 2.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-3.97) and diabetes-related nutritional education (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.08-4.03) (P<0.05) were factors associated with compliance with OHA.
Conclusions: About three quarters of the DM patients in our study, using diamicron for the first time, showed compliance after 12 weeks of treatment. Concomitant medications and diabetes-related nutrition education were associated with compliance.

Korean J Health Promot 2012;12(2):75-82

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Compliance, Education of patients