Determinants of Non-Adherence to the Medications for Dyslipidemia: A Systematic Review

Dyslipidemia is a major cardiovascular risk factor, and its control leads to less cardiovascular events. Many patients will need some medications to achieve ideal targets. Non-adherence to medications is a complex problem with high impact on their effectiveness. This study aims to identify the determinants of non-adherence to medications in patients with dyslipidemia.

We conducted a systematic review. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for original articles, published between 2000 and 2020, using the MeSH terms "Dyslipidemias" and "Medication Adherence".

From the initial 3502 identified articles, we selected 46 to include in the final qualitative synthesis. The determinants associated with non-adherence were lower age (≤50 years), female sex, African American ethnicity, smoking habits, being a new user of lipid-lowering medications, reporting or having concerns about lipid-lowering medication side effects and some comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's disease/dementia, depression and diabetes). On the contrary, adherence is higher in older patients, alcohol drinking habits, taking β-blockers, having a higher number of comorbidities, having a history of cardiovascular events, cardiac interventions or revascularization procedures, having health insurance and having more provider follow-up visits.

There are important identifiable determinants of non-adherence in patients with dyslipidemia. These patients benefit from a specific approach to minimize the problem and maximize the potential benefit of the prescription.