Medication Adherence on People Living with HIV and AIDS with Concomitant Diabetes

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the medication adherence rate in people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) and concomitant diabetes Methods: This retrospective review was conducted as a part of a larger study examining communication patterns between pharmacists and PLWHA using medication refill data obtained from community pharmacies between June 2014 to September 2015. Medication refill history, which included initial research participation date, prescription fill history, and day supply were collected. Patients were included in this retrospective review if they were enrolled in the study for at least 3 months, and are taking both highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and antidiabetic medications. Descriptive analyses were used to determine the proportion of days covered (PDC), or the number of days that a patient has a medication for a specific period of time. PDC > 80% for antidiabetic medication and PDC > 90% for HAART will be considered as adherent to medications. Results: A total of 37 patients met inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The mean age was 53.9 years (n=36, range 20-73) and 73% (n=27) were male. The mean PDC of HAART is 97.8% and the mean PDC of antidiabetic medications is 96.4%. The mean PDC of females taking antidiabetic medications was found to be significantly lower than that of males (89.3%,100.2%, p=0.03). The mean PDC of females taking HAART was also found to be significantly lower than that of males (94.2%,99%, p=0.013). The mean PDC of patients who are younger than age 50 taking both HAART and antidiabetic medications is 93.5%, the mean PDC of patients between 50 to 60 years old taking both HAART and antidiabetic medication is 98.6%, and the mean PDC of patients who are older than age 60 taking both HAART and antidiabetic medication is 97.7%. Conclusions: The adherence rate for females taking both HAART and antidiabetic medication was found to be significantly lower than that of males. The adherence rate is higher in ages between 50 to 60 than other age groups. Although the adherence rate varies between gender and different age groups, the overall adherence rate for both male and female reaches the goal of PDC > 80% for antidiabetic medication and PDC > 90% for HAART. Future studies should examine barriers to adherence for women who have HIV and concomitant diabetes.