Socioeconomic factors associated with poor medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes

Purpose This study aims to determine initiation and persistence for patients with type 2 diabetes receiving their first prescription of an antidiabetic agent and the associations with socioeconomic factors. Methods A cohort study including 8515 patients with type 2 diabetes who were prescribed their first antidiabetic medication between 2012 and 2019 in Uppsala, Sweden, was followed during 2 years. Medical records were linked to national registers on dispensed drugs and socioeconomic data. Adherence was assessed based on patients’ medication claims within 30 days of prescription (initiation) and continued claims after 24 months (persistence). Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the associations with the socioeconomic factors age, sex, living status, country of birth, education, occupation, and income. Results Within 30 days, 92.4% of the patients claimed their first prescription, and 64.0% were still being dispensed the initially prescribed medication after 24 months. Unemployed patients had lower initiation rates, and women had lower persistence rates. Factors associated with both low initiation and persistence were low income, young or old age, birth outside Europe, and being prescribed other diabetes drugs than metformin monotherapy. Conclusion Socioeconomic factors have different impact on the initiation of a new medication and the persistence to treatment in type 2 diabetes. It is important to acknowledge these differences to develop appropriate interventions to improve medication nonadherence.