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.