Ashfaque Rahim Memon, Mohammad Akram Randhawa, Sami Owaid M Alshammari, Ahmed Badah Alanazi, Abdul Aziz Mayouf N Alshammari, Yosef Soltan H Alrawaili, Yara Shargi K Alrawaili.
Compliance To Diabetic Therapy; Patients Attending Diabetic Center Of A Tertiary Hospital At Arar In Saudi Arabia.
Professional Med J Jan ;24(3):466-72.

Objectives: Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Arabian Peninsula has risen to a very high level especially in Saudi Arabia (32%). Compliance of diabetic patients’ towards therapy is crucial for diabetic management. According to a study conducted at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 83.4% of uncontrolled glycemic level (HbA1c ≥7%) patients did not follow the recommended dietary plan. Another factor for high rates of un-controlled diabetes was poor compliance to medication. Present study was aimed to investigate awareness of disease and drugs, as well as compliance to medication, dietary control and exercise in diabetic patients reporting to a tertiary hospital at Arar, Saudi Arabia. Study Design: A cross sectional descriptive study. Setting: Diabetic center of Prince Abdul Aziz bin Mossaid hospital, Arar, Saudi Arabia. Period: November and December 2015. Methods: Patients’ awareness of disease and drugs, as well as compliance to medication, dietary control and exercise was investigated by using a structured questionnaire. Response to various questions was analyzed using SPSS program version 16. Data was further correlated between variables via Fisher’s exact and chi-squared test. Result: Average awareness about disease and drugs was 56.5% and 23%, respectively. Overall compliance rates to medication, dietary control and exercise were 89.3%, 31% & 28.5%, respectively. Positive association was found between awareness to disease/drugs and compliance to therapy. Conclusion: The results of present study and similar studies conducted elsewhere indicate that patients’ awareness towards their disease and medication is directly proportional to patients’ compliance. Adequate awareness programs should be arranged for better management of diabetes in the community.

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