Illness Perception and Medication Adherence Among Patients with Primary Hypothyroidism in Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia

Figures & data

Table 1 The Patient Characteristics

		n= 400	%
Age	18–40 years	274	68.5
	41–59 years	95	23.8
	60 years and above	31	7.8
Gender	Male	76	19
	Female	322	80.5
BMI	Normal	63	15.8
	Overweight	122	30.5
	Obese	197	49.3
Do you exercise?	Yes	149	37.3
	No	250	62.5
Do you have any comorbidities?	Yes	161	40.3
	No	198	49.5
Duration of hypothyroidism	1–5 years	225	65.3
	6–10 years	64	16
	11 years and above	33	8.3
Do you follow your condition in the clinic on a regular basis?	Yes	314	78.5
	No	86	21.5
Have you received an education about hypothyroidism?	Yes	243	60.8
	No	157	39.3
Do you access your physician easily?	Yes	341	85.3
	No	59	4.8
Do you spend enough time with your physician during the visit?	Yes	346	86.5
	No	52	13
Do you follow your physician’s instructions?	Yes	341	78.5
	No	85	21.3
From where do you obtain your medications?	Free from the clinic	341	85.3
	Bought from pharmacies	58	14.5

Table 2 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of BIPQ and 12-Item Medication Adherence Scales

12-Item Medication Adherence Scale
	Mean	Std. Deviation	N
Medication compliance	10.67	2.86	400
Collaboration	12.32	3.31	399
Willingness	11.51	3.27	399
Acceptance	11.70	2.78	400
Total	46.21	9.84	399
BIPQ scale
	Mean	Std. Deviation	N
Consequences	5.25	2.91	400
Timeline	7.18	2.99	399
Personal control	4.10	2.68	400
Treatment control	3.37	2.74	399
Identity	5.93	2.71	400
Concerns	5.80	3.33	400
Understanding	3.64	2.73	400
Emotional response	6.09	3.29	400
Total	41.40	13.41	398

Table 3 The Correlation Between Medication Adherence and Illness Perception

Items	Medication Compliance	Collaboration	Willingness	Acceptance	Total Score of Medication Adherence
Consequences	−.057	−.039	−.031	−.029	−.048
Timeline	−.003	0.069	0.043	0.036	0.048
Personal control	0.180**	0.206**	0.134**	0.129*	0.203**
Treatment control	0.237**	0.305**	0.140**	0.194**	0.272**
Identity	0.045	0.002	−.016	−.049	−.005
Concerns	−.056	−.020	0.011	−.089	−.044
Understanding	0.169**	0.172**	0.313**	0.211**	0.271**
Emotional response	−.035	−.058	−.016	−.083	−.058
Total score of BIPQ	−.144**	−.152**	−.126*	−.159**	−.180**

Notes: **p < 0.01 level. *p < 0.05 level.

Table 4 Comparison of Medication Adherence Mean Score in Relation to Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Study Subjects and Patient-Related Factors

		N	%	Medication Adherence Score Mean	Std. Deviation	F-value/t-value	P value
Age	18–40 years	273	68.5	46.20	0.70	5.058	< 0.01
	41–59 years	95	23.8	47.82	1.00
	60 years and above	31	7.8	41.40	1.75
Gender	Male	76	19	42.41	12.90	−3.791	< 0.001
	Female	321	80.25	47.10	8.78
BMI	Normal	63	15.8	45.01	1.25	0.586	0.557
	Overweight	122	30.5	46.66	0.90
	Obese	197	49.3	46.285	0.711
Do you exercise?	Yes	148	37	47.32	9.44	1.713	0.08
	No	250	62.5	45.57	10.05
Do you have any comorbidities?	Yes	161	40.25	45.93	10.07	−0.303	0.76
	No	197	49.25	46.26	10.28
Duration of hypothyroidism	1–5 years	225	56.3	46.76	0.634	0.345	0.709
	6–10 years	64	16	46.01	1.18
	11 years and above	33	8.3	47.66	1.65
Do you follow your condition in the clinic on regular basis?	Yes	313	78.25	47.51	8.74	5.194	< 0.0001
	No	86	21.5	41.48	12.03
Have you received an education about hypothyroidism?	Yes	243	60.75	47.67	9.64	3.736	< 0.001
	No	156	39	43.95	9.76
Do you access your physician easily?	Yes	341	85.25	47.14	9.17	4.703	< 0.0001
	No	58	14.5	40.73	11.30
From where do you obtain your medications?	Free from the clinic	341	85.3	46.37	9.95	0.750	0.45
	Bought from pharmacies	58	14.5	45.32	9.22

Table 5 The Factors Associated with the Adherence Score in the Multivariate Analysis

Model	Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	t-value	p-value	95.0% Confidence Interval for B
	B	Std. Error	Beta			Lower Bound	Upper Bound
(Constant)	58.053	1.434		40.478	0.000	55.233	60.872
Following instructions	−9.754	1.122	−.402	−8.693	0.000	−11.960	−7.548
Duration of visit	−5.234	1.383	−.179	−3.784	0.000	−7.953	−2.515
Total score of BIPQ	−.116	0.034	−.157	−3.440	0.001	−.182	−.049
Gender	3.318	1.133	0.132	2.930	0.004	1.091	5.545
Access to physician	−3.186	1.436	−.113	−2.219	0.027	−6.010	−.363