The Role of Gender in Cost-Related Medication Nonadherence Among Patients with Diabetes

Objective: Under 50% of type 2 diabetic patients achieve the recommended glycemic control. One barrier to glycemic control is patients9 cost-related nonadherence to medications. We hypothesize gender differences in medication nonadherence due to costs among diabetic patients. Methods: US National Health Interview Survey (2011 to 2014) data yielded 5260 males and 6188 females with diabetes for over a year. We applied 2 analytic methods (A and B below) across multiple outcome measures (1 to 4) of medication nonadherence due to cost. The key independent variable was participant9s gender. Results: Across methods and measure, females consistently report significantly higher rates of medication nonadherence due to costs. Pearson9s χ 2 showed that female patients were more likely to (1) skip medication (13.5%–10.2%; P P P P Conclusions: A significant gender-based disparity exists on cost-related nonadherence of medication among diabetic patients. Health care providers and policy-makers should pay close attention to find ways to address cost-related nonadherence of medication among patients with chronic illness, especially among female patients.