Effect of Polypharmacy on Medication Adherence in Patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a cluster of metabolic diseases in which a person blood sugar is raised. Polypharmacy is the natural consequence of providing evidence based medical care to patients with type 2 diabetes. Typically, multi drug regimens are required to control hyperglycemia. Patient adherence to prescribed medications is crucial to the goal of reaching metabolic control. Objectives: To assess the effect of Polypharmacy on medication adherence in patients with type 2 DM, to assess drug-drug interactions associated with anti diabetic medication and to educate regarding micro and macro vascular complications among diabetic patients. Methodology: A prospective observational study was carried out for a period of six months at Medicine department of Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga. Results: A total of 92 patients were enrolled for the study of which 52 were males and 40 were females. Male patients of age 51-60 are more prone to develop disease as compared to females. Most common co-morbidity observed in diabetic population is hypertension. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) result showed the 0.000*. The major drug interactions were found in between metformin-levofloxacin. Out of 92 diabetic patients 41 patients were having macrovascular complications and only 3 patients were having microvascular complications. Conclusion: The present study showed that the clinical pharmacist involvement in disease management has positive impact in creating awareness about the disease. The final result showed that the medication adherence was improved, while comparing the first visit to follow up