Prospective memory slips are associated with forgetting to take glucose‐lowering therapies among adults with diabetes: results from the second Diabetes MILES – Australia (MILES‐2) survey

Abstract

Aims Prospective memory has been long considered a fundamental cognitive ability for optimal medication taking, but the role of prospective memory errors (termed 'slips') in diabetes self-care is unclear. Our aim was to examine associations between prospective memory and medication taking in adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods Some 901 adults with Type 1 diabetes and 927 with Type 2 diabetes completed a cross-sectional survey focused on the psychological and behavioural aspects of living with diabetes. Respondents reported whether they had forgotten to take their diabetes medication over the previous 14 days.Results Twenty-four per cent (n = 220) of adults with Type 1 diabetes and 23% (n = 211) with Type 2 diabetes reported that they had forgotten their medication at least once over the previous 14 days. This was associated with more prospective memory slips in adults with Type 1 diabetes [odds ratio (OR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05 to 1.13; P < 0.001] and Type 2 diabetes (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.15; P < 0.001); and with younger age (both groups), insulin pump use (Type 1 diabetes), insulin treatment (Type 2 diabetes), less frequent blood glucose checks (Type 1 diabetes) and higher HbA 1c (Type 1 diabetes).Conclusions These findings suggest that forgetting medication is relatively common among adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, and provide preliminary evidence for its relationship with self-reported prospective memory slips.

Six Months of Hybrid Closed-Loop Versus Manual Insulin Delivery With Fingerprick Blood Glucose Monitoring in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

“…The total number of study visits (inperson, e-mail, and phone) for HCL participants was greater than for the control group (median [interquartile range (IQR)] 31 [23,38] vs. 19 [15,24] visits; P , 0.001) as was time spent with HCL participants for study activities, education, and review of pump settings compared with control participants (27 [21,32] vs. 14 [11,19] hours; P , 0.001).…”

“…It is possible that, as with the diabetes burden and treatment satisfaction measures, subjective sleep benefits were masked by sleep disruption from HCL therapy (31). The absence of any detectable increase in self-perceived memory failures among those managing HCL is encouraging, as these have been previously linked to forgetting medication among adults with type 1 diabetes (32). It is possible that longer studies, resulting in greater familiarity with HCL technology, could still result in improvements in the nonglycemic parameters discussed above.…”

Imagine to Remember: An Episodic Future Thinking Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

“…Previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between poor PM and medication nonadherence. 7,8 Laboratory research has shown that performance on a PM task was correlated with medication adherence in diabetic participants. 9 Improving PM could be a means to enhance medication adherence within this population.…”