Diabetes Mellitus Therapy Adherence and Therapy Characterization in Northeast Portugal: Classical Vs Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV (DPP-4) Inhibitors

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterizes by the absence of insulin production by the body or the inability of their effectively use. Aim: To determine prevalence of diabetes types, the frequency of glycemic control, identify change in eating habits and physical activity, characterize the pharmacological therapy concerning classic and novel therapeutic approaches and verify the therapy adherence in diabetics of northeast Portugal. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed by applying an interview to 202 adult diabetics of Trás-os-Montes region (Portugal), based on a questionnaire, with MAT scale (measure of adherence to therapy) validated for the Portuguese population. Results: The results showed 73,8% and 26,2% diabetics of type 2 and type 1, respectively. Most of the total diabetics (38,1%) have controlled the glycemic once a day, 60.4% have modified eating habits and 89.7% increased the frequency of physical activity. The drugs more used were metformin (63) and insulin (52) and the use of incretin mimetics was low (13.9%, 28), with more expression of the association of metformin and vildagliptin (21). The prevalence of diabetics adherents to therapy was 92,6%. Conclusions: The majority of diabetics adhered to pharmacological therapy and the use of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitors remains low.