Treatment compliance among patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus in a coastal population of southern India

Hypertension and diabetes are major risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Adherence is a primary determinant of the effectiveness of treatment because poor adherence attenuates optimum clinical benefit and paves theway for complications. The cross‑sectional community‑based survey was carried out among men and women aged 30 years and above in the field practice area of a medical college to assess treatment compliance with respect to hypertension and type 2 diabetesmellitus. The study comprised of 426 subjects, already diagnosed with hypertension (287) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (139). During house visits, data were collected by personal face‑to‑face interview using a pre‑tested structured questionnaire. Compliance was determined by indirect methods, which included self‑reportingand interviews with the patients. Compliance to hypertension treatment was found to be 82.2%, while 83.6% of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus were on regular medication. Among the individuals on regular medication, 88 (37.3%) of them had controlled blood pressure.Although the compliance was good, blood pressure control was not optimal. Adherence was better among females as compared with males. Literacy status and socio‑economic background were not found to be associated with treatment compliance. High costof treatment for hypertension (39.3%) and diabetes (30.4%) and asymptomatic nature of the disease were the most common reasons cited for not taking regular medications. Adherence to hypertension and diabetes treatment was good. High cost of medications and asymptomatic nature of the disease were the reasons identified among the non‑adherent patients.