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The study patients who were nonadherent to treatment had higher blood pressure,
higher levels of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol and higher blood sugar levels,
indicating poor diabetes control.
Importantly, Dr. P. Michael Ho of the Denver VA Medical Center and colleagues
report, patients who did not adhere to their medications had a 58-percent higher
odds of being hospitalized and an 81-percent higher odds of dying than those
who took their medications as prescribed. This was true even after the researchers
accounted for factors that may also have contributed to these outcomes.
"Incremental increases in medication adherence were associated with improved
outcomes," Ho and colleagues report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
"The lower risk of being hospitalized or dying among patients who took
their medications is likely due to the benefit of the medications as well as
the fact that patients who take their medications on a regular basis are likely
to practice other healthy behaviors that lead to their lower risk."
This study, Ho said, highlights just how important it is for diabetic patients
to take their medications as directed. "It may be helpful to incorporate
medication taking into the daily routine," Ho said.
Patients who have trouble taking their mediations on a regular basis, should
discuss this with their physician "so that together the patient and physician
can address the problem." Patients who were nonadherent were younger than
adherent patients and had fewer other illnesses.
Publishers Note: This is where pharmacists can play a role as part of the
diabetes team: doctors, nurses and other medical professionals should be checking
with the patient’s pharmacy as to whether or not the patient is filling
their medications in a timely manner.
Archives of Internal Medicine, October 2006.
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