Medication adherence in women with IBD of childbearing age likely associated with disease knowledge

BACKGROUND: Medication adherence in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is crucial, particularly during pregnancy. Unplanned pregnancies are common; therefore, efforts to maximise adherence should not be restricted to pregnant women. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess medication adherence in women with IBD of childbearing age, regardless of their reproduction plans. DESIGN: We performed a multi-centre pilot questionnaire study of women with IBD age 18–45 years. METHODS: Survey questions included patient demographics, disease history, and validated assessments of IBD and pregnancy knowledge, medication adherence and quality of life. The primary outcome was rates and predictors of medication adherence. RESULTS: In all, 72 women [58.3% Crohn’s disease (CD) and 37.5% ulcerative colitis] completed the survey. The median patient age was 30 years [interquartile range (IQR): 24.8–36.0) and 37.5% had children. Medication adherence was high (84%; median Medication Adherence Report Scale: 19.0/20; IQR: 17.0–20.0). Knowledge scores were adequate for both the Crohn’s and Colitis Knowledge (CCKnow; median: 15.5/30; IQR: 12.3–18.0) and Crohn’s and Colitis Pregnancy Knowledge (CCPKnow; median: 8.0/17; IQR: 4.0–11.0). Disease knowledge was predictive of high medication adherence (CCPKnow: p = 0.02; CCKnow: p ⩽ 0.01). Higher adherence was significantly associated with a diagnosis of CD (p = 0.01), exposure to biological agents (p = 0.03) and immunomodulators (p = 0.04), childbearing after diagnosis with IBD (p = 0.03), and correctly understanding the importance of delivery modality (p = 0.02) and IBD activity in pregnancy (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Following dedicated education at the IBD clinic, medication adherence, disease-specific and pregnancy-specific knowledge in women with IBD of childbearing age tends to be high. Unplanned pregnancies are frequent; therefore, we should aim to maximise medication adherence in all women of childbearing age to optimise maternofoetal outcomes if unexpected pregnancies occur.