Importance of Patients' Knowledge of Their Prescribed Medication in Improving Treatment Adherence in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between treatment nonadherence and patients' knowledge of the prescribed medication among individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and evaluate the impact of nonadherence on relapse.


BACKGROUND
The patient's knowledge of the prescribed medication has been identified as an important predictor of treatment adherence in chronic diseases. However, this association has not been examined in IBD.


METHODS
In this prospective study, at baseline, 138 patients with IBD completed a self-reported survey on demographic data, knowledge of the prescribed medication, and candidate factors related to the degree of treatment adherence. To investigate the impact of nonadherence among patients in remission, relapse was analyzed for 18 months after enrollment.


RESULTS
Nonadherence was observed in 50 (36.2%) of the 138 subjects. In multivariate analysis, nonadherence was significantly associated with younger age (less than 30 y) at participation [odds ratio (OR), 5.88; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.51-22.94; P=0.011], longer intervals between outpatient clinic visits (≥3 mo) (OR, 30.31; 95% CI, 3.06-300.17; P=0.004), and limited knowledge of the prescribed medication (OR, 5.61; 95% CI, 1.60-19.67; P=0.038). Nonadherent patients had a significantly greater risk of relapse of IBD than adherent patients (relative risk, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.25-3.79; P=0.045).


CONCLUSIONS
Younger age, longer intervals between outpatient clinic visits, and limited knowledge of the prescribed medication tended to be associated with nonadherence to treatment, which consequently also affects the risk of relapse.
Departments of *Health Promotion Medicine †Internal Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Institute, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Chung Hyun
CH
Tae
Sung-Ae
SA
Jung
Hye Sung
HS
Moon
Jung-A
JA
Seo
Hye Kyung
HK
Song
Chang Mo
CM
Moon
Seong-Eun
SE
Kim
Ki-Nam
KN
Shim
Hye-Kyung
HK
Jung
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D055553:Prescription Drugs