TY - JOUR
T1 - Predictors of Medication Adherence in the Elderly
T2 - The Role of Mental Health
AU - Rodgers, Jo E.
AU - Thudium, Emily M.
AU - Beyhaghi, Hadi
AU - Sueta, Carla A.
AU - Alburikan, Khalid A.
AU - Kucharska-Newton, Anna M.
AU - Chang, Patricia P.
AU - Stearns, Sally C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2017.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - The aging population routinely has comorbid conditions requiring complicated medication regimens, yet nonadherence can preclude optimal outcomes. This study explored the association of adherence in the elderly with demographic, socioeconomic, and disease burden measures. Data were from the fifth visit (2011-2013) for 6,538 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, conducted in four communities. The Morisky–Green–Levine Scale measured self-reported adherence. Forty percent of respondents indicated some nonadherence, primarily due to poor memory. Logit regression showed, surprisingly, that persons with low reading ability were more likely to report being adherent. Better self-reported physical or mental health both predicted better adherence, but the magnitude of the association was greater for mental than for physical health. Compared with persons with normal or severely impaired cognition, mild cognitive impairment was associated with lower adherence. Attention to mental health measures in clinical settings could provide opportunities for improving medication adherence.
AB - The aging population routinely has comorbid conditions requiring complicated medication regimens, yet nonadherence can preclude optimal outcomes. This study explored the association of adherence in the elderly with demographic, socioeconomic, and disease burden measures. Data were from the fifth visit (2011-2013) for 6,538 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, conducted in four communities. The Morisky–Green–Levine Scale measured self-reported adherence. Forty percent of respondents indicated some nonadherence, primarily due to poor memory. Logit regression showed, surprisingly, that persons with low reading ability were more likely to report being adherent. Better self-reported physical or mental health both predicted better adherence, but the magnitude of the association was greater for mental than for physical health. Compared with persons with normal or severely impaired cognition, mild cognitive impairment was associated with lower adherence. Attention to mental health measures in clinical settings could provide opportunities for improving medication adherence.
KW - aging
KW - cognitive impairment
KW - medication adherence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042377736&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85042377736&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1077558717696992
DO - 10.1177/1077558717696992
M3 - Article
C2 - 29148336
AN - SCOPUS:85042377736
SN - 1077-5587
VL - 75
SP - 746
EP - 761
JO - Medical Care Research and Review
JF - Medical Care Research and Review
IS - 6
ER -
