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- Title
The Effects of the Number of Physicians Visited by Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients on the Rate of Achieving Target Values and Adherence to Medication.
- Authors
Cemalettin, Elmira; Ünlüoğlu, İlhami; Bilge, Uğur; Akalın, Aysen; Yılmaz, Hülya
- Abstract
Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the adherence to antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic medications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, and to determine the total number physicians they visited in different healthcare centers for the control and treatment of diabetes, the rate of achieving glycemic and lipid targets and the relationship between these variables. Material and Methods: A survey was administered to find out the rate of achieving target levels of lipid and HbA1C in type 2 DM patients and the factors that affect adherence to treatment (i.e. the number and type of healthcare centers visited for diabetes and the number of physicians visited) as well as the rate of resort to complementary medicine and the methods used. Results: A total of 400 DM patients -- i.e. 226 (56.5%) women aged between 51 and 65 years and 174 (43.5%) men aged between 52 and 67 -- were included in this study. We found that patients visited minimum 1 and maximum 4 physicians. The comparison of patients by the number of physicians they visited suggests that the values of fasting glucose, HbA1C, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotien and total cholesterol were statistically lower and the level of high-density was higher in patients that visited 2 or fewer physicians. Discussion: It becomes more difficult to achieve target values and ensure adherence to treatment when patients seek help from more than one or two physicians for the follow-up of DM.
- Subjects
TURKEY; ALTERNATIVE medicine; DRUGS; MEDICAL care use; TYPE 2 diabetes; PATIENT compliance; SURVEYS; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; GLYCEMIC control
- Publication
Konuralp Medical Journal / Konuralp Tip Dergisi, 2017, Vol 9, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1309-3878
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.18521/ktd.296809