medwireNews: A Canadian research team has pinpointed several sociodemographic, disease, and treatment parameters associated with adherence to medication in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Using data on 1762 patients drawn from the Ontario Best Practices Research Initiative registry, the study authors found that adherence to anti-rheumatic medication was significantly associated with married status (hazard ratio [HR]=0.73), rheumatoid factor positivity (HR=0.73), and more extensive comorbidities (HR=0.92).
By contrast, individuals were significantly more likely to discontinue treatment if they had a higher physician global score during follow-up (HR=1.10) or were using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (HR=1.75). Increased number of anti-rheumatic medications over time was also a significant predictor of nonadherence (HR=1.23).
“These results should be taken into consideration when developing patient adherence support programs and in the choice of treatment regimens,” conclude Vandana Ahluwalia (William Osler Health System, Brampton, Ontario) and colleagues in Clinical Rheumatology.
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