{
  "id": 95587,
  "title": "Adherence to medications, lifestyle advice, and self-monitoring for type 2 diabetes and hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and interactive network analysis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/adherence-to-medications-lifestyle-advice-and-self-monitoring-for",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-03T14:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PLOS Medicine",
    "slug": "plos-medicine",
    "url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1005189"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Type 2 diabetes and hypertension pose significant public health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, with poor treatment control. Adherence to essential treatment aspects—medication, lifestyle advice, and self-monitoring—is crucial for effective management but has not been systematically examined before. To address this gap, a team of researchers conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of adherence to key treatment pillars in sub-Saharan Africa. The study analyzed 312 observational and interventional studies involving 108,014 participants from 28 countries across the continent. The results reveal that adherence to antidiabetic medications was 67% (95% CI [60, 73]), while adherence to antihypertensive medications stood at 51% (95% CI [44, 58]). Dietary recommendations garnered a 44% adherence rate (95% CI [38, 49]), physical activity monitoring achieved 42% (95% CI [37, 47]), and alcohol abstinence and smoking cessation boasted the highest adherence rates of 85% (95% CI [82, 88]) and 95% (95% CI [94, 96]), respectively. However, self-monitoring of blood glucose was only observed in 18% (95% CI [12, 27]) of cases, and blood pressure monitoring lagged behind at 28% (95% CI [16, 45]). Overall, self-care adherence for type 2 diabetes and hypertension combined was found to be 37% (95% CI [30, 46]). The study underscores the need for targeted interventions focusing on education, self-efficacy, and social support to enhance adherence to treatment across all these crucial pillars.",
  "summary": "by Angeliki Apostolou, Reuben Simfukwe, Adrias Saint, Bridget Mushani, Hannah Chekhchar, Pearl Aovare, Kouamivi M. Agboyibor, Karlijn A. C. Meeks, George F. Mkoma, Charles Agyemang, Felix P. Chilunga Background Type 2 diabetes and hypertension are major public health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, yet treatment control remains poor. Patient adherence to key treatment pillars (medication,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}