Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2022) 81 EP467 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.81.EP467

1Hospital Rabta, Department of Endocrinology, Tunis, Tunisia; 2Faculté de Médecine de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia


Introduction: Metformin is the first-line treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Poor adherence can be lead to poor glycemic control. The aim of our study was to determine the level of metformin adherence and its link with glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study including 273 patients with type 2 diabetes taking metformin for at least three years. We assessed metformin adherence using the Girerd questionnaire in its Tunisian version. The level of adherence was considered good, medium or poor. Diabetes was considered controlled when HbA1c was less than 7%.

Results: The mean age was 60±8.22 years. Mean duration of metformin treatment was 10±5.5 years, with extremes ranging from 3 to 40 years. Mean HbA1c was 8.7±1.8% with extremes ranging from 5.6% to 15.7%. The diabetes was controlled in 18.3% of patients. The compliance was good in 7.3% of patients, medium in 48% of patients and poor in 44.7% of patients. When comparing mean HbA1c in all three adherence categories, there was a near statistically significant difference between the three categories (P = 0.058). HbA1c was higher in patients with poor treatment adherence compared to patients with good or medium level of adherence (8.98±1.96% vs 8.46±1.7%, P = 0.02). Duration of diabetes was lower in patients with poor adherence (9.7 years vs 11.1 years, P = 0.045).

Conclusion: Poor adherence to metformin treatment is frequent in type 2 diabetic patients. It is associated with a poorer glycemic control and should be targeted in therapeutic education programs.

Volume 81

European Congress of Endocrinology 2022

Milan, Italy
21 May 2022 - 24 May 2022

European Society of Endocrinology 

Browse other volumes

Article tools

My recent searches

No recent searches.