Abstract
Objective
Nonadherence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients using disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) may lead to joint damage and function loss. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore Chinese RA patients’ adherence rates and investigate potential risk factors for nonadherence.
Methods
A total of 122 RA patients were recruited from the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from January 2014 to April 2015. Patients were asked to complete a set of standardized self-report questionnaires (Compliance Questionnaire on Rheumatology, Health Assessment Questionnaire, Short Form-36 questionnaire, 28-joint Disease Activity Score, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Visual Analog Scale). Independent samples t-tests, chi-square analyses, and logistic regression modeling were used to analyze these data.
Results
Based on Compliance Questionnaire on Rheumatology, 38% of the patients adhered to DMARDs. Adherence was associated with education, income, depression, and the total number of DMARDs. Other demographic and clinical characteristics were not associated with adherence. Logistic regression models identified income, depression, and the total number of DMARDs as predictors of medication nonadherence.
Conclusion
In this study, 62% of patients with RA were not adherent to their DMARD prescription. Education, income, depression, and the total number of DMARDs were associated with medication adherence, and income, depression, and the total number of DMARDs were independent predictors of medication adherence in patients with RA. These findings could help medical personnel develop helpful interventions to improve adherence in RA patients by paying more attention to the patients with these accompanying risk factors and, finally, improve RA patients’ quality of life.
Acknowledgments
We want to thank all the investigators who participated in this study. We acknowledge Yan Sang, Biyu Shen, Haixia Cao, Yan Meng, Jie Qian, Fengyan Zhou, Zhanyun Da, and Xinhang Zhu for their assistance in this study. This research was supported by grants from the Cultivative Distinguished Young Scholars Project of Nantong University (2nd); the Innovation Talent Project of Nantong University (4th); the Collaborative Innovation Program of Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University; the 2015 Graduate Innovation Project of Nantong University (YKC15075); and College graduate research and innovation of Jiangsu Province (KYZZ15-0353).
Author contributions
All authors contributed toward data analysis, drafting and critically revising the paper and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.