Regimen complexity and medication nonadherence in elderly patients

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the number of daily administrations of individual drugs, as a measure of regimen complexity, contributes to the profile of an elderly patient who adheres poorly to the prescribed therapy. POPULATION: Six hundred ninety patients over 64 years who were consecutively admitted to 11 acute medical care and three long term/rehabilitation wards in Italy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Self-reported adherence to drugs taken at home before admission was measured by a single question assessment for each listed drug supplemented with a latter question about the circumstances of the missed administration. For cognitively impaired patients the question was put to patients’ relatives or caregivers. METHODS: A structured multidimensional assessment was performed to identify nonadherence and its potential correlates. Correlates of nonadherence were identified by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: We recorded 44 cases (6.4%) of nonadherence to at least one drug. Being assisted by foreign caregivers (OR 2.17; 95% CI 1.02–4.63) and the use of at least one multiple daily dosing drug (OR 2.99; 95% CI 1.24–7.17) were significant independent correlates of medication nonadherence, while age, selected indexes of frailty and the cumulative number of prescribed drugs were not. CONCLUSION: Regimen complexity and type of assistance are independent correlates of medication nonadherence.