Giannopoulou X, Nikolopoulou V, Theofilou P. Clinical and sociodemographic barriers to medication adherence in patients with diabetes: a cross-sectional study in Greece. Series Clin Med Case Rep Rev. 2026;4(3):1-12.
Background and objective: An interesting issue that needs to be investigated is the effect of physical and mental fatigue on medication adherence in patients with diabetes mellitus. The study aimed to investigate physical and mental fatigue in patients with diabetes mellitus and its relation to medication intake.
Methods: Participants were approached in person at the clinics of the municipality of Drama and in the association of individuals with disabilities of Drama. The data collection tool used in the study was the questionnaire, which included questions regarding the general characteristics of the participants, the fatigue assessment questionnaire - Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), and the Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS). The data collected using the questionnaire were processed and statistically analyzed with the statistical package IBM SPSS Statistics, version 21.
Results: In the sample of patients with diabetes mellitus in the present study, physical fatigue levels were moderate, mental fatigue levels were low (below average), and overall fatigue levels were moderate, while the prevalence of fatigue was very high (75.5%). In addition, higher levels of physical fatigue were also associated with significantly lower levels of self-efficacy for proper medication intake in patients with diabetes mellitus, and vice versa; patients without fatigue were associated with the highest mean levels of self-efficacy for proper medication intake.
Conclusion: There is a moderate association between physical and mental fatigue in patients with diabetes mellitus and its effect on medication intake.