Treatment burden and perceptions of glucose-lowering therapy among people living with diabetes

The vast majority of patients with diabetes agreed that medication adherence would control their diabetes (88.7%) and improve their quality of life (91.7%), though only 60-70% believed medications wou

Effect: improvement; 88.7% agreed meds control diabetes; 91.7% agreed meds improve QoL

About one in three patients with diabetes expected their glucose-lowering medications to cause frequent hypoglycemia (29.4%) and additional harm (33%), with 28.4% believing side effects were unavoidab

Effect: adverse; 29.4% expected frequent hypoglycemia; 33% expected additional harm beyond hypoglycemia

A majority of patients with diabetes held misconceptions about insulin: 61.3% agreed or were unsure that insulin could damage their kidneys, 37.2% that it could cause blindness, and 55.4% that requiri

Effect: adverse; 61.3% agreed/unsure insulin damages kidneys; 37.2% agreed/unsure insulin causes blindness; 55.4% agreed/unsure insulin = final disease stage

More than half of patients (54.5%) agreed or were unsure whether natural remedies were as good or better than their prescribed glucose-lowering medications, and 28.9% believed natural remedies could c

Effect: decline; 54.5% agreed/unsure natural remedies as good or better; 28.9% believed natural remedies could permanently cure diabetes

A majority of patients reported substantial treatment burden: 57.4% constantly worried about forgetting medication, over 50% were worried about affording medications, 37.7% felt like a burden to their

Effect: adverse; 57.4% worried about forgetting medication; >50% worried about costs; 37.7% felt like burden to family

Nearly 30% of patients denied receiving a detailed explanation from their clinician about their disease and treatment, and only 39.7% reported being offered different treatment options, while the rema

Effect: decline; 30% reported no detailed disease explanation; only 39.7% offered different treatment options

Significant knowledge gaps existed: 36.3% of patients believed they could stop medication if their blood glucose was controlled, 24.5% thought they could eat whatever they wanted if medication-complia

Effect: decline; 36.3% would stop meds if glucose controlled; 24.5% believed could eat anything with meds; 28.9% believed sporadic meds sufficient