Approximately 1 in 6 adults with asthma in the United States report nonadherence to medication due to cost.

Image credit: jittawit.21 |stock.Adobe.com

The number of U.S. adults who report nonadherence to asthma treatment due to cost remains high, despite a declining trend in nonadherence, a recent observational study published in 2006 reported. There is. rib cage.¹ According to the authors, these findings suggest that healthcare providers should consider a collaborative approach to better understand a patient's financial or financial situation and preferences before starting treatment. It is said that there is.^{1, 2}

Poor control of asthma is thought to be due to non-compliance with medication, and financial hardship may be a major cause of non-adherence or inconsistent compliance with medications and treatments. As the economic landscape and asthma management have changed over time and will continue to change, comprehensive research on cost-related non-compliance (CRN) among adults with asthma is critical. To assess this, the study authors evaluated trends, prevalence, and determinants of CRN, as well as the impact of these factors on asthma control among adults with asthma in the United States.¹

In this observational study, researchers evaluated data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2011 to 2022. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to assess trends in the prevalence of CRN, and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with CRN. In addition, two additional multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the association between CRN and asthma-related adverse events (AEs), including asthma attacks and asthma-related emergency room (ER) visits.²

A total of 30,793 adult patients aged 18 years and older with current asthma were enrolled from the NHIS and included in the study. The researchers noted that “current asthma” was defined as respondents who answered “yes” to the following questions: “Has a doctor or other health care professional ever told you that you have asthma?” and “Do you still have asthma?” was defined as a positive response. “During the past 12 months, have you withheld your medications to save money?” “During the past 12 months, have you reduced the amount of medication you take to save money?”; “During the past 12 months, have you delayed refilling your medications to save money?”¹

In addition, an asthma attack was identified if the patient answered “yes” to one question (“During the past 12 months, have you experienced asthma or an asthma attack?”). Similarly, an ER visit for asthma was defined by a patient's affirmative response to one question (“During the past 12 months, have you had to visit the ER or urgent care center for asthma?” Have you ever been there?”).¹

According to the results, a decreasing trend was observed in CRN prevalence among enrolled patients. Despite this trend, about one in six adults with asthma does not take their medication because of cost. The enrolled population represented approximately 8.1% of the U.S. population (19.38 million people). Overall, approximately 17.8% of U.S. adults with asthma report CRN, representing an estimated 2.99 million people in the U.S. population. Among the CRN members, approximately 11.6% (1.95 million people) skip taking their medication to save money, and 12.4% (2.06 million people) reduce their medication dose to save money. 15.1% (2.54 million people) reported delaying medication refills to save money.¹

Furthermore, adult asthma patients aged 60 years and older were least likely to report a CRN compared to patients aged 18-40 years and 41-60 years (21.5% vs. 18.7% and 21.5%, respectively). P < .01). Female patients were also more likely to report CRN compared to males (19.5% vs. 14.4%; P < .01). Non-Hispanic black patients (20.3%) were most likely to report a CRN compared to other Hispanic black patients (20.1%), white patients (17.1%), and other patients (14.8%) . Furthermore, the results showed that adult asthmatics with CRN had a lower risk of experiencing an asthma attack (adjusted OR, 1.95; 95% CI 1.78-2.13) and of having an emergency department visit due to asthma (adjusted OR, 1.63; 95% CI 1.44). -1.84).¹

Study author Chung-Hsuen Wu, Ph.D., of Taipei Medical University in Taiwan, said in a press release that cost-related events remain a problem for asthma patients, even though they have declined in the past. He said he was surprised. 12 years. “As our study shows, when compared to [with] Patients without cost-related defaults and patients with cost-related defaults are more likely to have an asthma attack and visit the emergency department. ”²

References

1. Hung CT, Erickson SR, Wu CH. Cost-related noncompliance among adults with asthma in the United States (2011–2022). rib cage. First published online: December 9, 2024. doi:10.1136/thorax-2024-221778

2. Today's Medpage. One in six adults with asthma choose not to take their medication because of cost. News release. December 9, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.medpagetoday.com/pulmonology/asthma/113293?xid=nl_mpt_Morningbreak2024-12-10&mh=6d2b5f4f91352444bdf817a9c17 750bc&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MorningBreak_121024&utm_term=NL_Gen_Int_Daily_News_Update_active