Predictors of Non-adherence to Immunosuppressive Therapy in Asian Liver Transplant Recipients

Adherence to immunosuppressive medications has been shown to affect post-transplant outcomes. We aimed to determine the level of adherence to immunosuppressive therapy in liver transplant (LT) recipients and to elucidate factors associated with it, as well as patient preferences on the dosing schedule.

LT recipients were recruited during transplant clinic follow-up. A validated Morisky 8-item questionnaire was completed by patients to assess their adherence to immunosuppressive therapy. Adherence was determined by the sum of the responses to the questionnaire. Low, medium, and high adherence were defined by a Morisky score of >2, 1 to 2, and 0, respectively. Data on the patient's socio-economic and clinical background, dosing schedule of immunosuppressant medications, and patient preferences were included in the questionnaire.

A total of 107 LT recipients were approached and 75 completed the questionnaire. The majority of patients (48/74, 64.9%) preferred a once-daily medication regimen. The proportion of high adherence was 24/75 (32.0%), medium adherence was 51/75 (42.7%), and low adherence was 19/75 (25.3%). Multivariate analysis showed younger age and post-transplant duration >5 years as independent predictors for low adherence. Among low-adherence patients, 16/19 (84.2%) patients were on a twice-daily regimen, and, of these, 14/16 (87.5%) preferred their medications to be reduced to once daily.

A significant proportion (68%) of LT recipients had low to moderate adherence to medications, with younger age and longer post-transplant duration of >5 years as independent predictors. Early identification of at-risk patients is essential to allow implementation of measures to improve adherence. Simplifying medication regimens to once daily is a potential way to improve adherence.