Assessing Adherence to Inhaled Corticosteroids Among Adults with Asthma in Kuwait Using the Medication Adherence Report Scale for Asthma

PURPOSE: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the mainstay maintenance therapy for asthma management. Non-adherence to ICS, which can lead to exacerbations and poor asthma control, is commonly reported among adult patients with asthma. The level of adherence to ICS among adult patients with asthma in Kuwait has not been previously published. The aim of this study was to assess adherence to ICS among adults with asthma in Kuwait. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients with asthma using ICS therapy at ambulatory asthma clinics in Kuwait. Adherence to ICS was assessed using the Medication Adherence Report Scale for Asthma (MARS-A). Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted using SPSS version 23. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-nine patients with a mean age of 41.42 (12.75) years participated in the study. The majority of the participants (82.6%) reported low adherence to ICS. Approximately, three-quarters of the participants reported that they used ICS either when needed or when they felt breathless. Furthermore, about half of them admitted that they tried to avoid using ICS (46.3%), or forgot to take ICS (51%), or only used ICS before performing an exercise that made them breathless (54%). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, independent predictors (age, education, and smoking status) were not found to significantly influence the overall adherence to ICS therapy. CONCLUSION: Adherence to ICS among adult patients with asthma was found to be low in ambulatory care settings in Kuwait. Future studies should aim to determine the barriers to ICS adherence among patients with asthma, with a focus on developing effective intervention strategies.