COMPLIANCE TO DIABETIC THERAPY;

Objectives: Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Arabian Peninsula has risen toa very high level especially in Saudi Arabia (32%). Compliance of diabetic patients’ towardstherapy 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 therecommended dietary plan. Another factor for high rates of un-controlled diabetes was poorcompliance to medication. Present study was aimed to investigate awareness of disease anddrugs, as well as compliance to medication, dietary control and exercise in diabetic patientsreporting to a tertiary hospital at Arar, Saudi Arabia. Study Design: A cross sectional descriptivestudy. 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 astructured questionnaire. Response to various questions was analyzed using SPSS programversion 16. Data was further correlated between variables via Fisher’s exact and chi-squaredtest. 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 andcompliance to therapy. Conclusion: The results of present study and similar studies conductedelsewhere indicate that patients’ awareness towards their disease and medication is directlyproportional to patients’ compliance. Adequate awareness programs should be arranged forbetter management of diabetes in the community.