Table 3. Bivariate analyses among low adherence (MMAS-8 score <6) and moderately/high adherence (MMAS-8 score≥6) for study participants, Shatila primary care clinic, Beirut, October 2018.
| Characteristics at the time of study | Low adherence (n = 110) | Moderate/High adherence (n = 251) | p-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age—year—median, (IQR) | 53 (46–63) | 54 (45–61) | 0.803 |
| Age categories—year—n (%) | |||
| ≤15 | 1 (6) | 17 (94) | |
| >15 | 109 (32) | 234 (68) | 0.018 |
| Gender—n (%) | |||
| Male | 37 (25) | 110 (75) | |
| Female | 73 (34) | 141 (66) | 0.070 |
| Nationality—n (%) | |||
| Syrian | 103 (31) | 227 (69) | |
| Lebanese | 5 (24) | 16 (76) | |
| Palestinian | 2 290) | 8 (80) | 0.657 |
| Employmentb—n (%) | |||
| Yes | 14 (23) | 48 (77) | |
| No | 75 (36) | 135 (64) | 0.053 |
| Literacy—n (%) | |||
| Illiterate | 53 (34) | 101 (66) | |
| With some education | 57 (27) | 150 (73) | 0.160 |
| Diagnosis—n (%) | |||
| DM-1 Only | 5 (15) | 29 (85) | |
| DM-2 Only | 20 (23) | 67 (77) | |
| HTN Only | 29 (37) | 50 (63) | |
| DM + HTN | 56 (35) | 105 (65) | 0.027 |
| Chronic morbiditiesc—n (%) | |||
| 1 | 43 (27) | 116 (73) | |
| > 1 | 67 (33) | 135 (67) | 0.209 |
| Prescribed chronic medications numberd—n (%) | |||
| 1 | 5 (36) | 9 (64) | |
| 2 | 10 (15) | 55 (85) | |
| 3 | 20 (36) | 35 (64) | |
| ≥4 | 75 (33) | 152 (67) | 0.022 |
| Attended PSECe—n (%) | |||
| Yes | 42 (31) | 95 (69) | |
| No | 39 (27) | 106 (73) | 0.485 |
| PSEC sessions numbere—median (IQR) | 4 (2–5) | 5 (3–6) | 0.100 |
| Insulin usee—n (%) | |||
| No | 46 (26) | 128 (74) | |
| Yes | 34 (32) | 73 (68) | 0.336 |
| HbA1Ce—% [mean (SD)] | 8.6 (1.6) | 8.0 (1.6) | <0.002 |
| HbA1Ce-% [n (%)] | |||
| <8 | 27 (19) | 116 (81) | |
| ≥8 | 53 (39) | 84 (61) | <0.0001 |
| Blood pressuref–mmHg, mean (SD) | |||
| Systolic | 131 (21.6) | 130 (16.3) | 0.555 |
| Diastolic | 78 (12.5) | 80 (9.5) | 0.400 |
| Controlled blood pressuref—n (%) | |||
| Yes | 48 (36) | 84 (64) | |
| No | 37 (34) | 71 (66) | 0.735 |
| Characteristics at first visit | |||
| Place of residency—n (%) | |||
| In catchment area | 34 (34) | 67 (66) | |
| Outside catchment area | 76 (29) | 184 (71) | 0.411 |
| Time since diagnosis—year—median, (IQR) | 8 (4–14) | 7 (3–12) | 0.103 |
| Duration of displacement—year—median, (IQR) | 5 (3–6) | 5 (3–6) | 0.931 |
DM-1 type1 diabetes, DM-2 type 2 diabetes, HTN hypertension, IQR interquartile range, PSEC Patient Support Education and Counseling, SD standard deviation, UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
a p-value <0.05 is statistically significant.
b For those between 15 years and 64 years.
c Morbidities included, besides diabetes and hypertension: asthma, epilepsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypothyroidism and cardiovascular diseases.
d Medications related to chronic morbidities recorded.
e Calculated for patients with diabetes; most recent HbA1C recorded, on average 2.2 months from the study date
f Calculated for patients with hypertension.