Abstract
Introduction: Medication non-adherence increases the risk of hospitalization and mortality in older adults. Evidence from previous studies was not conclusive due to small sample size or lack of adjustment for potential confounders. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and predictors of medication non-adherence in older adults, considering both individual-level and neighborhood-level factors. Methods: We studied participants (aged 66-90 years) who were on at least one medication at visit 5 (2011-2013) of the ARIC Study. Potential predictors included demographic factors, individual-level and neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors, behavioral factors, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function. We estimated the prevalence of self-reported medication adherence using the Morisky Green Levine medication adherence questionnaire and considered intermediate and low as medication non-adherence. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify independent predictors of medication non-adherence, further adjusting for race-center, insurance types, comorbidities, and number of medications. Results: Among 5304 participants (mean age of 75.5 [SD 5.1] years, 21.6% Black, and 58.2% female), 2.3% and 37.1% reported low and intermediate medication adherence, respectively. After adjustment, age 66-74 (odds ratio [OR]= 1.23 [95% CI, 1.10-1.38]), current drinker (1.31 [1.10-1.55]), lack of physical activity (PA) (1.18 [1.01-1.37] for intermediate PA; 1.38 [1.21-1.58] for low PA), and depressive symptoms (2.30 [1.82-2.91]) were significant predictors of medication non-adherence ( Table ). Education and ADI were not associated with medication non-adherence. Conclusions: We found that almost 40% of older adults have medication non-adherence. Unhealthy lifestyle factors and depressive symptoms were associated with medication non-adherence. Education and neighborhood-level SES were not. Depression is an important modifiable factor to improve medication adherence in older adults.
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