Patients with diabetes show poor adherence to heart disease drugs

Adherence to heart disease therapies dropped by half within one year  

This study on diabetes looked at members newly diagnosed with diabetes who also had pre-existing cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Three separate antihyperglycemic drug classes are recommended as add-on therapy for people with diabetes who also have ASCVD. 

• Glucagon like peptide-1 agonists (GLP-1) 
• Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i
• Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) 

All these medications require long-term adherence to reduce complications from ASCVD. But for all the drug classes in the study, adherence dropped off by about half within a year. (Yet the drug manufacturers reported adherence of 90% in their clinical trials.)