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. 2023 Aug 24:17:2109-2117.
doi: 10.2147/PPA.S420545. eCollection 2023.

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Glycemic, Weight, Blood Pressure Control and Medication Adherence in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Ruth Sim  1 , Chun Wie Chong  1 , Navin Kumar Loganadan  2 , Zanariah Hussein  3 , Noor Lita Adam  4 , Shaun Wen Huey Lee  1   5   6   7
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Glycemic, Weight, Blood Pressure Control and Medication Adherence in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Ruth Sim et al. Patient Prefer Adherence. .

Abstract

Medication adherence profoundly affects blood glucose management in patients with type 2 diabetes. Measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have affected disease management and medication adherence, owing to limited access to healthcare facilities. This study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on adherence to glucose-lowering and lipid-lowering therapies (statins), and glycemic, weight, and systolic blood pressure control measures. A retrospective chart review was conducted one year pre- and post- March 18, 2020, for patients receiving glucose-lowering medications and lipid-lowering therapies (statins) in two major public hospitals in Malaysia. We compared the proportion of days covered by medication, HbA1c level, weight, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) values pre- and after the index date. A total of 1985 patients were included in this study. The adherence rate significantly increased for metformin, sulfonylureas dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP4i) and statin after the index date (metformin (PDC: 0.985 vs 0.978, p < 0.001), sulfonylureas (PDC: 0.988 vs 0.979, p < 0.01), DPP4i (PDC: 0.987 vs 0.98, p < 0.001), and statins (PDC: 0.983 vs 0.978, p < 0.05)). HbA1c levels were significantly reduced after the index follow-up (Mean difference: -0.43%, p < 0.001), while there was a 2.5 mmHg (p = 0.03) significant increase in SBP post-index follow-up. No significant changes in weight were observed during the post-index follow-up period. In this study, we observed better medication adherence and glycemic control among patients during the lockdown, but not for weight and systolic blood pressure control.

Keywords: SARS-CoV 2; adherence; covid-19; diabetes; glycemic; weight.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Study period. (b) Flow chart of patient selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Adherence (PDC) of medications pre- and post-index date.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Difference in HbA1c stratified by interval between pre- and post-index follow-up. (a) Difference in HbA1c. (b) Difference in weight. (c) Difference in systolic blood pressure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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