Insulin Adherence in Type 2 Diabetes in Mexico: Behaviors and Barriers

Abstract

Objective. To investigate factors associated with insulin adherence in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) attending a tertiary care centre in Mexico City. Material and Methods. Cross-sectional study, including 200 patients. Adherence to insulin therapy was measured with a medication adherence questionnaire. Sociodemographic data and factors related to insulin omission were collected and compared between the nonadherent and adherent groups. Results. We categorized 117 (58.5%) patients as nonadherent and 83 (41.5%) as adherent. Among the adherent, only 22 patients (11%) had excellent adherence to insulin therapy. The following factors were associated with nonadherence: lack of planning of daily activities (46.1%), fear of hypoglycemia (41%), economic factors (15.4%), and number of insulin applications (2.31 versus 1.76 applications per day). Conclusions. In this study, patients with type 2 diabetes attending a tertiary care referral centre showed inadequate adherence to insulin therapy. The principal factors associated with insulin omission were low socioeconomic status, fear of hypoglycemia, and a greater number of insulin applications per day.