Beliefs about antipsychotic versus hypoglycemic medications among individuals with serious mental illness and type 2 diabetes

Jennifer M Aakre,¹ Deborah R Medoff,^1,2 Lisa B Dixon,^1,2 Julie A Kreyenbuhl<sup>1,2

1</sup>VA Capitol Healthcare Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Baltimore VA Medical Center, ²Division of Services Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

Background: This study compared the beliefs held by individuals with coexisting serious mental illness and type 2 diabetes regarding the necessity and risks of taking antipsychotic versus hypoglycemic medications. We also investigated whether nonadherent patients differed from adherent patients in their beliefs about medications.
Methods: Forty-four individuals with type 2 diabetes and serious mental illness who were prescribed hypoglycemic and antipsychotic medications completed a cross-sectional assessment of medication beliefs and adherence for both medication types.
Results: Patients perceived a greater need for hypoglycemic versus antipsychotic medications; however, their beliefs were not associated with nonadherence to either medication type.
Conclusion: These results suggest that individuals with coexisting serious mental illness and type 2 diabetes have stronger convictions regarding the necessity of their diabetes medication for maintaining their health.

Keywords: nonadherence, antipsychotic medication, type 2 diabetes, medication beliefs, hypoglycemic medication, serious mental illness