Medication adherence and health‐related quality of life among people with diabetes in Bangladesh: A cross‐sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Good adherence to anti‐diabetic medications is an important protective factor for decreasing diabetes‐related complications and disabilities but its association with health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) is understudied. The current study aimed to assess an association between medication adherence to anti‐diabetic drugs and HRQoL among people with diabetes in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. METHODS: We conducted a cross‐sectional study among 480 people with diabetes aged between 50 and 70 years, who attended a tertiary‐level hospital in Dhaka city. We used the EuroQol‐5 Dimensions Questionnaire (EQ‐5D‐5L) to measure HRQoL and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale to assess the level of medication adherence to anti‐diabetic drugs. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the significance of relevant factors. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 59.0 (standard deviation [SD], 7.0) years. The majority of the participants (74%) had a lower level of medication adherence. The mean value of (EQ‐5D‐5L) was 2.0 (SD, 1.0). The percentage of severe disability in different domains were 6.7% for mobility, 3.5% for self‐care, 11.9% for usual daily activities, 11.9% for pain/discomfort and 11.3% for anxiety. After adjusting for age, sex, years of education, household expenditure, hypertension, duration of diabetes, glycemic status and multi‐morbidities; low adherence to anti‐diabetic medication was inversely associated with pain (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08–0.80; p = .036), and positively associated with anxiety (OR, 7.18; 95% CI, 1.03–9.59; p = .043). CONCLUSIONS: Low medication adherence to anti‐diabetic drugs was associated with anxiety and pain among the EQ‐5D‐5L indexes measured in people with diabetes in Dhaka, Bangladesh.