Research Article
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The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Diabetes: A Single-Center Study

Year 2026, Volume: 8, 34 - 42, 10.03.2026
https://doi.org/10.46310/tjim.1866507
https://izlik.org/JA52WF74WM

Abstract

Objective: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease requiring long-term lifestyle modification and medical treatment. Inadequate disease management may lead to serious acute and chronic complications, increased morbidity, and reduced quality of life. Treatment adherence in diabetes is a multifactorial process influenced by pharmacological regimens, disease awareness, education level, and sociodemographic characteristics. Previous studies have shown that insufficient knowledge about the disease and low awareness are associated with poor glycemic control and accelerated disease progression. Given the lifelong nature of diabetes treatment, difficulties in disease acceptance and sustaining treatment adherence are common. Understanding how patients’ awareness, education, and self-perceived knowledge relate to treatment adherence and laboratory outcomes may explain poor glycemic control. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between treatment adherence, disease awareness, and disease progression by analyzing questionnaire data and laboratory findings of patients admitted to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital. Methods: This study was conducted using a questionnaire-based survey administered to 500 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus for at least three months who attended Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital. Results: Of the 500 diabetic patients included in the study, 284 (56.8%) were female and 216 (43.2%) were male. The mean age of the participants was 59.7 ± 13.1 years. The mean HbA1c level was 7.7 ±1.59, while the mean Morisky adherence score was 5.4 ± 1.7. Low adherence was observed in 259 patients (51.8%), moderate adherence in 172 patients (34.4%), and high adherence in 69 patients (13.8%). A statistically significant difference was found between Morisky adherence categories and HbA1c levels (p < 0.001). HbA1c levels were highest among patients with low adherence and lowest among those with high adherence. Conclusion: HbA1c levels were significantly higher in patients with low Morisky adherence scores, whereas the lowest HbA1c levels were observed in patients with high adherence. Additionally, the proportion of patients with high adherence was significantly greater among those receiving oral antidiabetic therapy alone compared to those receiving combined insulin and oral antidiabetic treatment.

Ethical Statement

This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of RECEP TAYYİP ERDOĞAN UNIVERSITY Hospital (Approval No: 2023/163). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Thanks

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hatice Beyazal Polat is gratefully acknowledged for her valuable contributions and guidance during the preparation of this study.

References

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There are 19 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects ​Internal Diseases
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Elifnur Avcı 0000-0001-8510-9483

Teslime Ayaz 0000-0002-3468-1428

Kamil Konur 0000-0002-9666-8085

Submission Date January 18, 2026
Acceptance Date February 12, 2026
Publication Date March 10, 2026
DOI https://doi.org/10.46310/tjim.1866507
IZ https://izlik.org/JA52WF74WM
Published in Issue Year 2026 Volume: 8

Cite

APA Avcı, E., Ayaz, T., & Konur, K. (2026). The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Diabetes: A Single-Center Study. Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine, 8, 34-42. https://doi.org/10.46310/tjim.1866507
AMA 1.Avcı E, Ayaz T, Konur K. The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Diabetes: A Single-Center Study. Turk J Int Med. 2026;8:34-42. doi:10.46310/tjim.1866507
Chicago Avcı, Elifnur, Teslime Ayaz, and Kamil Konur. 2026. “The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients With Diabetes: A Single-Center Study”. Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine 8 (March): 34-42. https://doi.org/10.46310/tjim.1866507.
EndNote Avcı E, Ayaz T, Konur K (March 1, 2026) The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Diabetes: A Single-Center Study. Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine 8 34–42.
IEEE [1]E. Avcı, T. Ayaz, and K. Konur, “The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Diabetes: A Single-Center Study”, Turk J Int Med, vol. 8, pp. 34–42, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.46310/tjim.1866507.
ISNAD Avcı, Elifnur - Ayaz, Teslime - Konur, Kamil. “The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients With Diabetes: A Single-Center Study”. Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine 8 (March 1, 2026): 34-42. https://doi.org/10.46310/tjim.1866507.
JAMA 1.Avcı E, Ayaz T, Konur K. The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Diabetes: A Single-Center Study. Turk J Int Med. 2026;8:34–42.
MLA Avcı, Elifnur, et al. “The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients With Diabetes: A Single-Center Study”. Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine, vol. 8, Mar. 2026, pp. 34-42, doi:10.46310/tjim.1866507.
Vancouver 1.Elifnur Avcı, Teslime Ayaz, Kamil Konur. The Relationship Between Disease Awareness and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Diabetes: A Single-Center Study. Turk J Int Med. 2026 Mar. 1;8:34-42. doi:10.46310/tjim.1866507

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  • Noma H, Furukawa TA, Maruo K, Imai H, Shinohara K, Tanaka S, et al. Exploratory analyses of effect modifiers in the antidepressant treatment of major depression: individual-participant data meta-analysis of 2803 participants in seven placebo-controlled randomized trials. J Affect Disord. 2019;250:419-24. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.03.031.
  • Glisson BS, Leidner RS, Ferris RL, Powderly J, Rizvi NA, Keam B, et al. Safety and clinical activity of MEDI0562, a humanized OX40 agonist monoclonal antibody, in adult patients with advanced solid tumors. Clin Cancer Res. 2020;26(20):5358-67. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-19-3070. Epub 2020 Aug 14.
  • Lam RW, Filteau MJ, Milev R. Clinical effectiveness: the importance of psychosocial functioning outcomes. J Affect Disord. 2011;132(Suppl 1):S9-13. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2011.03.046.

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  • Fortea A, Ortuño M, Masias M, Guasp M, De la Serna E, Armangue T, et al. Brain metabolite levels in the post-acute stage of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and schizophrenia: a longitudinal case-control study. Biol Psychiatry. 2025. In press.

Article with published erratum

  • Taylor CJ, Ordóñez-Mena JM, Roalfe AK, Lay-Flurrie S, Jones NR, Marshall T, et al. Trends in survival after a diagnosis of heart failure in the United Kingdom 2000-2017: population based cohort study. BMJ. 2019;364:l223. doi:10.1136/bmj.l223. Erratum in: BMJ. 2019;367:l5840. doi:10.1136/bmj.l5840.
  • Seymour CW, Liu VX, Iwashyna TJ, Brunkhorst FM, Rea TD, Scherag A, et al. Assessment of clinical criteria for sepsis: for the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA. 2016;315(8):762–774. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0288. Erratum in: JAMA. 2016;315(20):2237. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.5850.

Volume with supplement

  • Giménez-Arnau AM, Toubi E, Marsland AM, Maurer M. Clinical management of urticaria using omalizumab: the first licensed biological therapy available for chronic spontaneous urticaria. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2016;30(Suppl 5):25-32. doi:10.1111/jdv.13697.

Issue with the supplement

  • Wilkinson P. Non-suicidal self-injury. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2013;22(1 Suppl):S75-9. doi:10.1007/s00787-012-0365-7.

Volume with part

  • Butkevich E, Hülsmann S, Wenzel D, Shirao T, Duden R, Majoul I. Drebrin is a novel connexin-43 binding partner that links gap junctions to the submembrane cytoskeleton. J Physiol. 2004;555(Pt 1):45-59. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2003.053900.

Issue with part

  • Locarnini SA, Yuen L. Molecular genesis of drug-resistant and vaccine-escape HBV mutants. Antivir Ther. 2010;15(3 Pt B):451-61. doi:10.3851/IMP1499.

Issue with no volume 

  • Bhandari M, Guyatt GH, Siddiqui F, Morrow F, Busse J, Leighton RK, et al. Treatment of acute Achilles tendon ruptures: a systematic overview and metaanalysis. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2002;(400):190-200. 

No volume or issue

  • Don’t panic!: phobias and anxiety disorders. NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine. 2010 Fall:12-5.

Journal article on the Internet

  • Nordh M, Wahlund T, Jolstedt M, et al. Therapist-guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy vs internet-delivered supportive therapy for children and adolescents with social anxiety disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry [Internet]. 2021 May 12 [cited 2026 Feb 26];78(7):705-13. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0469

For books and other monographs 

Personal author(s)

  • Rothman KJ, Greenland S, Lash TL. Modern epidemiology. 4th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Wolters Kluwer; 2020.
  • Petrie A, Sabin C. Medical statistics at a glance. 4th ed. Chichester (UK): Wiley-Blackwell; 2019.

Author(s) and editor(s)

  • Aristotle. Nicomachean ethics. Crisp R, editor. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 2000.
  • Kant I. Critique of pure reason. Guyer P, Wood AW, editors. New York (NY): Cambridge University Press; 1998.

Organization(s) as author

  • World Health Organization. World malaria report 2023. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. 283 p.

Editor(s), compiler(s) as author

  • Firth JD, Conlon C, Cox TM, editors. Oxford textbook of medicine. 6th ed. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press; 2020.
  • Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ, editors. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s principles and practice of infectious diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Elsevier; 2020

Translated book

  • Foucault M. Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. Sheridan A, translator. New York (NY): Vintage Books; 1995.
  • Homer. The iliad. Fagles R, translator. New York (NY): Penguin Classics; 1998.

Chapter in a book

  • Clasen T. Water and sanitation. In: Detels R, Gulliford M, Abdool Karim QA, Tan CC, editors. Oxford textbook of global public health. 6th ed. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press; 2015. p. 162-79. doi:10.1093/med/9780199661756.003.0011.
  • Williams GM. Statistical methods. In: Detels R, Beaglehole R, Lansang MA, Gulliford M, editors. Oxford textbook of public health. 5th ed. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press; 2009. p. 677-715.

Conference proceedings

  • Youn HY, Cho WD, editors. UbiComp 2008: ubiquitous computing, 10th International Conference, UbiComp 2008; 2008 Sep 21–24; Seoul, Korea. New York (NY): ACM; 2008.
  • Halliday RB, Walter DE, Proctor HC, Norton RA, Colloff MJ, editors. Acarology: Proceedings of the 10th International Congress; 1998 Jul 5–10; Canberra, Australia. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing; 2001.

Dissertation (Thesis)

  • Davis FD. A technology acceptance model for empirically testing new end-user information systems: theory and results [dissertation]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan School of Management); 1986.
  • Sürer S. From space to safety: flood mapping with Sentinel-1 SAR data for enhancing flood risk management in Ljungby Municipality [master’s thesis]. Lund (SE): Lund University; 2024 [Internet]. [cited 2025 Nov 22]. Available from: https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9158441
  • Patwary MM. Adoption of mobile banking applications: a study on young people [master’s thesis]. Eskişehir (TR): Anadolu University Graduate School of Social Sciences; 2017 [Internet]. [cited 2025 Nov 22]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35579.49446

Poster(s)

  • Ashby S, Bowman CR, Zeithamova D. Generalized memory representations emerge across paired-associate training [poster]. Presented at: Neuroscience 2019 (49th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience); 2019 Oct 19–23; Chicago, IL.
  • Foushee R, Srinivasan M, Xu F. The impact of speech complexity on preschooler attention and learning [poster]. Presented at: 45th Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD 45); 2020 Nov 5–8; Boston, MA, USA (virtual).

Patent

  • Duong-Van Minh, inventor; Interos Inc, assignee. Sentiment analysis from social media content. United States patent US 8,849,826. 2014 Sep 30.

Homepage/Website

  • Eurostat [Internet]. Luxembourg (LU): Statistical Office of the European Union; c1953– [cited 2025 Sep 27]. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Proofreading

After TJIM has prepared the layout of the article, it is sent to all authors for proofreading. All authors must view the pre-publication version of the article and approve its publication.

Multicenter clinical trials

TJIM welcomes the submission of manuscripts reporting results of multicenter clinical trials. These manuscripts may be submitted with authorship in one of the following styles:

  • The name of a study group only (collective authorship)
  • The names of no more than five individuals and the name of a study group

In each case, one individual must serve as the corresponding author, and the names of all individuals specifically involved in the preparation of the manuscript should be listed under the heading Writing Committee following the Acknowledgments section. This should be followed by a list of investigators from each institution under the heading Study Group Investigators. Each author and each Writing Committee member must sign the Copyright Agreement and Author Acknowledgement Form.

Content responsibility

Content and scientific accuracy of all manuscripts, as well as of any electronic supplementary material, are the sole responsibility of the authors. No responsibility will be assumed by TJIM for any legal claim arising from injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of product liability, negligence, or other circumstances; nor from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the published material. No test or procedure should be carried out unless the reader judges it to be safe. Independent verification of all diagnoses and drug dosages should be performed. Discussions, views, and recommendations regarding medical procedures, drug choices, and dosages are the sole responsibility of the authors.

Disclaimer

TJIM does not accept or publish advertisements. Any mention of commercial products, if it occurs within scholarly content, does not imply endorsement by the journal.

Section A: Publication and authorship
1. All submitted papers are subject to a strict peer-review process by at least two international reviewers that are experts in the area of the particular paper. Reviewers are being selected by Associate Editors and Editor in Chief. The author also can propose reviewers for some journals and article types.
2. The factors that are taken into account in review are relevance, originality, readability, statistical validity, and language.
3. The possible decisions include acceptance, minor revisions, major revision, or rejection.
4. If authors are encouraged to revise and resubmit a submission, there is no guarantee that the revised submission will be accepted.
5. Rejected articles will not be re-reviewed.
6. The paper acceptance is constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
7. No research can be included in more than one publication, whether within the same journal or in another journal.

Section B: Authors’ responsibilities
1. Authors must certify that their manuscript is their original work.
2. Authors must certify that the manuscript has not previously been published elsewhere, or even submitted and been in reviewed in another journal.
3. The authors must participate in the peer-review process and follow the comments.
4. Authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.
5. All Authors mentioned in the paper must have significantly contributed to the research. The level of their contribution also must be defined in the “Authors’ Contributions” section of the article.
6. The authors must state that all data in the paper are real and authentic.
7. The authors must notify the Editors of any conflicts of interest.
8. The authors must identify all sources used in the creation of their manuscript.
9. Authors must report any errors they discover in their published paper to the Editors.
10. Authors must not use irrelevant sources that may help other researches/journals.
11. Authors cannot withdraw their articles within the review process or after submission, or they must pay the penalty defined by the publisher.

Section C: Peer review/responsibility for the reviewers
1. Reviewers should keep all information regarding papers confidential and treat them as privileged information.
2. Reviews should be conducted objectively, with no personal criticism of the author. No self-knowledge of the author(s) must affect their comments and decision.
3. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments in 500 to 1000 words.
4. Reviewers may identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
5. Reviewers should also call to the Editor in Chief’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
6. Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Section D: Editorial responsibilities
1. Editors (Associate Editors or Editor in Chief) have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article.
2. Editors are responsible for the contents and overall quality of the publication.
3. Editors should always consider the needs of the authors and the readers when attempting to improve the publication.
4. Editors should guarantee the quality of the papers and the integrity of the academic record.
5. Editors should publish errata pages or make corrections when needed.
6. Editors should have a clear picture of research funding sources.
7. Editors should base their decisions solely one the papers’ importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to publication’s scope.
8. Editors should not reverse their decisions nor overturn the ones of previous editors without serious reason.
9. Editors should preserve the anonymity of reviewers (in half blind peer review journals).
10. Editors should ensure that all research material they publish conforms to international accepted ethical guidelines.
11. Editors should only accept a paper when reasonably certain.
12. Editors should act if they suspect misconduct, whether a paper is published or unpublished, and make all reasonable attempts to persist in obtaining a resolution to the problem.
13. Editors should not reject papers based on suspicions; they should have proof of misconduct.
14. Editors should not allow any conflicts of interest between staff, authors, reviewers, and board members.
15. Editors must not change their decision after submitting a decision (especially after reject or accept) unless they have a serious reason.

Section E: Publishing Ethics Issues

Editorial Board of the Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine complies with the criteria of the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
1. All editorial members, reviewers, and authors must confirm and obey rules defined by COPE.
2. The corresponding author is the main owner of the article so she/he can withdraw the article when it is incomplete (before entering the review process or when a revision is asked for).
3. Authors cannot make major changes in the article after acceptance without a serious reason.
4. All editorial members and authors must will to publish any kind of corrections honestly and completely.
5. Any notes of plagiarism, fraudulent data, or any other kinds of fraud must be reported completely to COPE.

• Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine (TJIM) does not charge any fees for manuscript submission, peer review, editorial handling, page layout/typesetting, or publication (including page or color charges).
• TJIM does not provide any payments or honoraria to authors, reviewers, editors, or editorial board members.
• All published articles are freely accessible to read and download.
• TJIM is an open-access journal and does not require any subscription fees for access.
• All TJIM content is digitally archived and preserved via the LOCKSS (Lots Of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) system through TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM DergiPark.
• In line with the journal’s publication policy, announcements, advertisements, sponsorships, and similar content are neither accepted nor published.
• TJIM does not offer a reprint service for professional-quality reproductions of articles.
• All expenses of TJIM are covered by the publisher.

Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Board

Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Chest Diseases
Cardiology
​Internal Diseases, Health Sciences
Endocrinology, ​Internal Diseases
​Internal Diseases, Clinical Oncology, Oncology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Genetics, Predictive and Prognostic Markers
Haematology, ​Internal Diseases
Radiology and Organ Imaging

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Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine, hosted by DERGİPARK, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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