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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Evaluating the Function of the Foot Core System in the Elderly
Published on: March 11, 2022
Regimen complexity and medication nonadherence in elderly patients
Andrea Corsonello1, Claudio Pedone, Fabrizia Lattanzio
1Istituto Nazionale di Ricovero e Cura per Anziani (INRCA), Cosenza;
Objective:
To assess whether the number of daily administrations of individual drugs, as a measure of regimen complexity, contributes to the profile of an elderly patient who adheres poorly to the prescribed therapy.
Population:
Six hundred ninety patients over 64 years who were consecutively admitted to 11 acute medical care and three long term/rehabilitation wards in Italy.
Main Outcome Measure:
Self-reported adherence to drugs taken at home before admission was measured by a single question assessment for each listed drug supplemented with a latter question about the circumstances of the missed administration. For cognitively impaired patients the question was put to patients' relatives or caregivers.
Methods:
A structured multidimensional assessment was performed to identify nonadherence and its potential correlates. Correlates of nonadherence were identified by multivariable logistic regression.
Results:
We recorded 44 cases (6.4%) of nonadherence to at least one drug. Being assisted by foreign caregivers (OR 2.17; 95% CI 1.02-4.63) and the use of at least one multiple daily dosing drug (OR 2.99; 95% CI 1.24-7.17) were significant independent correlates of medication nonadherence, while age, selected indexes of frailty and the cumulative number of prescribed drugs were not.
Conclusion:
Regimen complexity and type of assistance are independent correlates of medication nonadherence.
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