The faculty of pharmacy discussed the MSc thesis tagged “Medication-Related Burden (MRB) among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and its Relation with Diabetic Control Parameters” by Ayman Jamal Noori and his supervisors, Assist. Prof. Dr. Dheyaa Jabar Khadim and Dr. Muqdad Abdulhasan, in the Clinical Pharmacy Department. The aims of the study were to measure MRB among DM patients and explore any possible relationships between MRB and patient-related factors, including diabetic control parameters. The study was carried out on already-diagnosed DM patients at the Specialized Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes, Alrusafa Health Directorate, Baghdad, Iraq. MRB was measured using the Living with Medicines Questionnaire. The study recruited 193 DM patients with (50.15±13.6) years old on average. More than three quarters (83.4%) of the participating patients had type 2 DM. The average total MRB score was (122.8±15.5) with most patients (72.5%) having moderate MRB. Four domains reported the highest burden scores: domain 3 “cost-related burden”, domain 4 “side effects of medicines”, domain 6” concerns about medicine use” ، domain 7 “impact of using medicines on daily life” and domain 8 “autonomy to vary regimen”. Patients who were admitted to the emergency department last year, had type 1 diabetes, uncontrolled blood glucose (HbA1c ˃ 7%), with neuropathy, or retinopathy had a significantly (P-value <0.05) higher medication burden. Additionally, the total MRB score had a significant positive correlations with fasting blood sugar and LDL levels and a significant negative correlation with HDL levels. Nearly all the DM participants were suffering from varying degrees of MRB. Patients with T1DM, those with poor glycemic control, those with neuropathy, and those with retinopathy had significantly higher MRB.
