Authors: Haekyung JeonSlaughter
Publish Date: 2012/03/14
Volume: 47, Issue: 12, Pages: 1985-1998
Abstract
Patients’ nonadherence to antidepressant treatment hampers cost and efficacy of depressionspecific treatment However previous studies have failed to find consistent findings in economic effect on nonadherence and also failed to reach consensus in how to measure nonadherence to treatment The study attempts to investigate income effect on nonadherence to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors SSRIs treatment with clear definitions of nonadherence self discontinuation of SSRIs nonpersistence and underdose of SSRIs noncomplianceThe study extracted data from the National Comorbidity SurveyReplication NCSR The study sample n = 280 includes adults between the ages of 18 and 64 who were diagnosed with Diagnostic Statistics Manual IV Major Depressive Episode MDE at some point during their lifetime and medicated with SSRIs in the past 12 monthsJust above poverty level of family income and no health insurance increased the risk of medication nonpersistence in SSRIs treatment The study findings confirmed that African Americans were at higher risk of medication noncompliance than Whites odds ratio 453 and MDE comorbidity was positively associated with medication noncompliance odds ratio 425Low income level combined with health insurance status and race/ethnicity predict nonadherence to antidepressant treatment The study findings would help physicians and hospitals developing interventional strategies and programs to increase patients’ adherence rates in antidepressant treatment
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