Adherence to Long-Term Therapies and Beliefs about Medications

Table 1

Characteristics of study participants and their level of adherence.

Characteristics	Total; 𝑁=408	Low adherence; 𝑁=232 (56.9%)	High adherence; 𝑁=176 (43.1%)
Age*
Mean (±SD)	51.2±13.3	48.3±14.2	54.9±11.1
Gender 𝑁 (%)^a
Male	207 (50.7)	125 (53.9)	82 (46.6)
Female	201 (49.3)	107 (46.1)	94 (53.4)
Literacy level 𝑁 (%)*
Less than primary school	214 (52.5)	93 (40.1)	121 (68.8)
School degree	142 (34.8)	102 (44)	40 (22.7)
Higher education	52 (12.7)	37 (15.9)	15 (8.5)
Number of medical conditions*
Mean (±SD)	2.28±1.2	2.15±1.2	2.46±1.1
Average duration of illness*
Mean (±SD)	7.64±5.9	8.87±6.8	6.01±4.1
Number of medications*
Mean (±SD)	4.42±2.6	4.69±3.1	4.06±1.8
Diabetes mellitus 𝑁 (%)*	290 (71.1)	148 (63.8)	142 (80.7)
Hypertension 𝑁 (%)*	223 (54.7)	113 (48.7)	110 (62.5)
Hyperlipidemia 𝑁 (%)	210 (51.5)	122 (52.6)	88 (50)
Asthma 𝑁 (%)*	58 (14.2)	42 (18.1)	16 (9.1)
Hypothyroidism 𝑁 (%)	52 (12.7)	25 (10.8)	27 (15.3)
BMQ-specific necessity score^b
Mean (±SD)*	17.9±2.8	17.0±2.9	19.2±2.1
BMQ-specific concerns score^b
Mean (±SD)*	15.7±3.6	17.6±2.9	13.2±2.3
BMQ-general overuse score^b
Mean (±SD)*	13.6±2.3	14.5±2.1	12.4±2.0
BMQ-general harm score^b
Mean (±SD)*	10.4±2.8	11.8±2.5	8.5±2.0
Perceived adequacy of medication information^c
Mean (±SD)*	7.9±3.3	6.2±2.8	10.2±2.5

∗Statistical significant differences between groups.
aPercentages are in columns orientation within the total number of participants and adherence categories.
bBMQ: beliefs about medicines questionnaire. Specific-necessity and concerns scores possible range from 5 to 25. General overuse and harm scores possible range from 4 to 20.
cPerceived adequacy of medication information has possible scores range from 0 to 15.