Medication adherence in low income elderly type-2 diabetes patients: A retrospective cohort study

AbstractThe study objective was to determine the age associated medication adherence among low income type-2 diabetes patients enrolled in Medicaid. This was a retrospective cohort study consisting of patients aged 18–44years (n=681), 45–64years (n=2327) and 65+ years (n=161), respectively newly starting antidiabetic medication between July 2001 and June 2002. Medication adherence was measured as medication possession ratio using prescription refill patterns. Multiple regression analyzes showed that compared to age group 18–44years, age groups 65+ and 44–64years had significantly higher adherence rate by 13.4% and 12.5%, respectively. Better oral antidiabetic medication adherence was associated with increased age