Medication adherence in rheumatoid arthritis: effects of psychosocial factors

Several demographic and psychosocial factors have been shown to predict adherence to medication for different chronic illnesses, including age, satisfaction with medical consultations, social support, optimism, and perceptions of medications. However, little is known about how these factors relate to adherence in people living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Cross-sectional predictors of medication adherence were investigated among 85 outpatients with RA (75% women; mean age 58.88 years; mean disease duration 10.29 years). Participants completed questionnaire measures of psychosocial factors and adherence, while details of medication consumption, comorbidity and objective measures of disease activity (inflammation) were recorded from medical files. Results demonstrated that holding stronger beliefs about the necessity of medications, and believing that medications are generally not overused, predicted higher reported adherence to RA medications (over and above relevant demographic and medical factors). Adherence was also higher in people taking higher numbers of medications. These findings highlight the important role perceptions regarding medications play in terms of adhering to specific medication(s) and may prove beneficial in educational interventions for people with RA and health professionals who care for them.