Evaluation of compliance and adherence to medications in diabetic and/or hypertensive patients during the lockdown period and the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on blood glucose levels and blood pressure levels

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v15i2.54960

Keywords:

Diabetes mellitus; Hypertension; Blood glucose levels; Blood pressure levels; Lockdown

Abstract

Background: To contain the COVID-19 pandemic, a nationwide lockdown was imposed, which affected the lives of people with diabetes and hypertension as the patients were not able to regularly follow up with the doctor.

Aims and Objectives: This prospective observational study was conducted to find out the compliance and adherence to oral hypoglycemic agents and antihypertensives during lockdown, to consult with doctors during lockdown, and also to analyze the effect of lockdown on blood glucose levels and blood pressure control by comparing the pre- and post-lockdown blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on 100 participants aged between 35 and 85 years. They were studied by a questionnaire for a period of 3 months. The majority belonged to the 55–65 years of age group, and a male predominance was seen across all age groups. The changes in lifestyle habits of the participants during lockdown and complications due to diabetes and hypertension were also studied.

Results: There was a statistically significant decrease in the adherence to prescribed medications during lockdown due to various reasons, the most important of which was the lack of access to personal consultation with the doctor during lockdown. Patients also could not follow their diet and physical exercises due to lockdown. All these factors led to poor control of blood pressure and blood glucose levels, as evidenced by comparing the pre- and post-lockdown blood glucose levels and blood pressure.

Conclusion: This study concludes that there was a significant decrease in adherence to medications during the COVID-19 lockdown and there was poor control of blood pressure and blood glucose levels due to the lockdown period.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
132
PDF
178

Downloads

Published

2024-02-01

How to Cite

Renuka BG, Kandagaddala Yaswath, Shweta R Chittawadgi, Yogeshwar, Sushma HK, & Narendranath Sanji. (2024). Evaluation of compliance and adherence to medications in diabetic and/or hypertensive patients during the lockdown period and the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on blood glucose levels and blood pressure levels. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 15(2), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v15i2.54960

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2024)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The journal holds copyright and publishes the work under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license that permits use, distribution and reprduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. The journal should be recognised as the original publisher of this work.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).