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The Relationship Between Patient Medication Adherence and Following Preventive Medicine Recommendation
Michal Shani1, Yochai Schonmann2, Doron Comaneshter2
1From the Department of Family Medicine Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel (MS, AL); Department of Family Medicine Central District, Clalit Health Service, Rehovot, Israel (MS, AL); Department of Quality Measurements and Research, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel (YS, DC); Siaal Research Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel (YS). michal.shani@gmail.com.
Insights
Patients with diabetes and hypertension who adhere to chronic medications are more likely to follow preventive care guidelines. This includes vaccinations and cancer screenings, improving overall health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Chronic conditions like diabetes mellitus and hypertension require long-term medication adherence.
- Preventive medicine recommendations aim to reduce morbidity and mortality in at-risk populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between adherence to prescribed chronic medications and adherence to preventive care guidelines.
- To understand if medication adherence predicts uptake of screenings and vaccinations in patients with diabetes and hypertension.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of prescription data from a large healthcare database (Clalit) for individuals aged 50-74.
- Calculation of individual medication adherence rates and assessment of adherence to influenza vaccination, colon cancer screening, and mammography recommendations.
- Statistical analysis using adjusted odds ratios to compare adherence levels across different quintiles.
Main Results:
- A significant positive association was found between higher medication adherence and adherence to preventive recommendations.
- Individuals in the highest quintile of medication adherence showed significantly increased odds of receiving the influenza vaccine (aOR 1.52), undergoing colon cancer screening (aOR 1.59), and mammography (aOR 1.35).
- The study included over 268,000 individuals, with high prevalence of hypertension (81.1%) and diabetes (59.5%).
Conclusions:
- Adherence to chronic medications is positively associated with adherence to preventive medicine guidelines in patients with diabetes and hypertension.
- Promoting medication adherence may be a strategy to improve uptake of crucial preventive health services.
- These findings highlight the importance of integrated care approaches for managing chronic diseases and promoting preventive health.
Background:
To study the relationship between adherence to chronic medications and adherence to preventive medicine recommendations among persons with diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
Methods:
Data were collected from the Clalit database included all members of Clalit aged 50 to 74 years, diagnosed with diabetes mellitus or hypertension before 2016 and treated with at least 1 medication (statins hypotensive or antidiabetic drugs) during 2017. We analyzed all the monthly prescriptions that were filled during 2017. We determined personal adherence rates by calculating each individual's average adherence rate to all the prescribed medications. Adherence rates were stratified by quintiles. We checked whether each person included followed the Israeli recommendations for influenza vaccine, colon cancer screening, and mammography.
Results:
Of 268,792 persons, 81.1% had hypertension, and 59.5% had diabetes; 40.6% had diabetes and hypertension. The mean age was 63.7 years; 50.6% were men. The mean number of medications used was 2.2 ± 1.1. An adherence rate of ≤20% was found in 4.2%, and >80% in 42.5%. Overall, 59.6% had received an influenza vaccine, 68.0% had undergone colon cancer screening, and 75.2% of the women had undergone mammography. Increased adherence to medications was associated with increased adherence to preventive recommendations. For persons in the study cohort, adjusted odds ratios comparing the highest to the lowest quintile of medication adherence were 1.52 (1.46-1.59) for influenza vaccine, 1.59 (1.53-1.66) for colon cancer screen, and 1.35 (1.27-1.44) for mammography.
Discussion:
A positive association was observed between adherence to chronic medications and adherence to preventive medicine among persons with hypertension and diabetes.
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