What strategies do ulcerative colitis patients employ to facilitate adherence?

Figures & data

Table 1 Participants’ characteristics (n=671)

Variables	n (%), mean ± SD, or median with IQR
Strategies that patients employ to facilitate adherence
I keep my drugs in a place where I can notice them (Item 1)	4	(3–5)
I keep my drugs in my bag or at the office or school in preparation for going out (Item 2)	4	(2–5)
I keep my medicines where I eat meals (Item 3)	4	(2–5)
I keep each day’s meds in a pill case or something similar to make sure I have taken them (Item 4)	2	(1–3)
When going out, I take my drugs before leaving even if it is a little early (Item 5)	1	(1–3)
When I miss a dose, I make up for it to meet the daily dose by taking extra at the next dose (Item 6)	1	(1–2)
I have my family members or the people around me remind me to take my drugs so that I won’t forget to take them (Item 7)	1	(1–2)
Psychological factors
Trust in the physiciana	46.0±6.1
Disease characteristics
Age at diagnosis,a years	31.3±11.9
Duration of UC, yearsb	8.9±6.9
Family historyc
Yes	36	(5.4)
No	634	(94.6)
The duration of current remission, monthsd	22.0±28.7
Disease region by recent colonoscopye
Total and left side	505	(75.9)
Rectum	160	(24.1)
Medication characteristics
5-ASA
Times a day drugs taken
≥2	224	(33.4)
≤3	447	(66.6)
Number of tablets/day	7.8±2.1
Any current concomitant therapyf
Yes	325	(48.4)
No	346	(51.6)
Abdominal symptoms
Stool consistency
Liquid	76	(11.3)
Formed	595	(88.7)
Bowel movements/day
≥4 times	319	(47.5)
≤3 times	352	(52.5)
Urgency
Yes	251	(37.4)
No	420	(62.6)
Painc
Yes	179	(26.7)
No	492	(73.3)
Visible bleeding
Yes	175	(26.1)
No	496	(73.9)
Sociodemographic characteristics
Sex
Female	307	(45.8)
Male	364	(54.2)
Age,c years	40.2±12.0
Employmentc
Part time job, student, housewife, unemployed	281	(41.9)
Full time job, family operated business	389	(58.1)
Marital statusc
Unmarried, divorced, widowed	282	(42.0)
Married	388	(58.0)
Educational levelc
College or higher	351	(52.4)
Junior high school, high school, vocational school, junior college	319	(47.6)
Living situation
Living alone	114	(17.0)
Living with someone	557	(83.0)

Notes:

a n=668,

b n=669,

c n=670,

d n=666, and

e n=665.

f Indicates the following therapies: topical therapy, corticosteroids, thiopurines, calcineurin inhibitors, leukocyte apheresis, and biologic agents.

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range.

Table 2 Results of univariate logistic regression analysis of factors associated with good adherence (n=671)

Variables	OR	95% CI	P-value
Strategies that patients employ to be adherent
I keep my drugs in a place where I can notice them (Item 1)
Usage	0.99	0.68–1.43	0.99
Non-usage	Reference
I keep my drugs in my bag or at the office or school in preparation for going out (Item 2)
Usage	1.31	0.92–1.82	0.13
Non-usage	Reference
I keep my medicines where I eat meals (Item 3)
Usage	1.66	1.18–2.23	<0.01
Non-usage	Reference
I keep each day’s meds in a pill case or something similar to make sure I have taken them (Item 4)
Usage	3.31	2.00–5.48	<0.01
Non-usage	Reference
When going out, I take my drugs before leaving even if it is a little early (Item 5)
Usage	0.77	0.50–1.17	0.22
Non-usage	Reference
When I miss a dose, I make up for it to meet the daily dose by taking extra at the next dose (Item 6)
Usage	0.87	0.56–1.36	0.55
Non-usage	Reference
I have my family members or the people around me remind me to take my drugs so that I won’t forget to take them (Item 7)
Usage	0.94	0.57–1.57	0.83
Non-usage	Reference
Psychological factors
Doctor–patient relationshipa	1.04	1.008–1.06	0.01
Disease characteristics
Age at diagnosisa	1.02	1.001–1.03	0.03
Duration of UCb	0.99	0.97–1.02	0.75
Family historyc
Yes	1.005	0.48–2.13	0.99
No	Reference
Duration of current remissiond	0.99	0.98–0.99	0.02
Disease region by recent colonoscopye
Total and left side	1.53	1.04–2.24	0.03
Rectum	Reference
Medication characteristics
5-ASA
Times of day drugs taken
≤2	1.15	0.87–1.51	0.33
≥3	Reference
Number of tablets/day	1.09	1.001–1.19	0.048
Any current concomitant therapyf
Yes	1.78	1.26–2.52	<0.01
No	Reference
Abdominal symptoms
Stool consistency
Liquid	1.05	0.59–1.71	0.99
Formed	Reference
Bowel movements/day
≥4 times	1.20	0.85–1.68	0.31
≤3 times	Reference
Urgency
Yes	1.24	0.88–1.76	0.24
No	Reference
Painc
Yes	0.95	0.65–1.39	0.80
No	Reference
Visible bleeding
Yes	0.69	1.001–2.21	0.048
No	Reference
Sociodemographic characteristics
Sex
Female	1.003	0.71–1.41	0.99
Male	Reference
Agec	1.01	0.99–1.03	0.06
Employmentc	Reference
Part time job, student, housewife, unemployed	1.41	0.99–2.00	0.05
Full time job, family operated business	Reference
Marital statusc
Unmarried, divorced, widowed	1.19	0.85–1.68	0.30
Married	Reference
Educational levelc
College or higher	0.93	0.66–1.30	0.66
Junior high school, high school, vocational school, junior college	Reference
Living situation
Living alone	1.19	0.77–1.85	0.44
Living with someone	Reference

Notes:

a n=668,

b n=669,

c n=670,

d n=666, and

e n=665.

f Indicates the following therapies: topical therapy, corticosteroids, thiopurines, calcineurin inhibitors, leukocyte apheresis, and biologic agents.

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Table 3 Results of multivariate analysis of relationships between strategy items 2, 3, or 4 and good adherence (n=657)

Variables	Model 1	Model 2
	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)
I keep my drugs in the place where I take meals (Item 3)
Usage	1.47 (1.02–2.12)*
Non-usage	Reference
I keep each day’s meds in a pill case or something similar to make sure I have taken them (Item 4)
Usage		2.98 (1.74–5.12)
Non-usage		Reference
Disease region by recent colonoscopy
Total and left side	1.37 (0.92–2.07)	1.36 (0.97–2.05)
Rectum	Reference	Reference
Any current concomitant therapy
Yes	1.19 (0.80–1.78)	1.15 (0.76–1.73)
No	Reference	Reference
Duration of current remission	1.00 (0.99–1.003)	0.99 (0.99–1.00)
Age at diagnosis	1.02 (1.00–1.03)	1.01 (0.99–1.03)
Visible bleeding
Yes	1.46 (0.94–2.25)	1.39 (0.89–2.16)
No	Reference	Reference
Doctor–patient relationship	1.04 (1.01–1.07) *	1.03 (1.002–1.06) *
Number of tablets/day	1.04 (0.95–1.14)	1.02 (0.93–1.13)
Employment	1.33 (0.92–1.93)	1.23 (0.85–1.79)

Notes: Hosmer–Lemeshow test: Model 1 (χ² =11.0, degrees of freedom =8, P=0.21) and Model 2 (χ² =12.1, degrees of freedom =8, P=0.17).

* P<0.05.

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.