Two different approaches to assess adherence to medication in Polish cohort of the EUROASPIRE V registry

Introduction: The implementation of guidelines on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in patients at high risk of developing CVD was assessed in the EUROASPIRE V registry. Aim of the study: This study was designed to compare a simple self-reported quantitative assessment of adherence to medication using the Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MAQ) with a qualitative evaluation based on the Adherence in Chronic Disease Scale (ACDS) in the Polish cohort of the EUROSPIRE V registry. Material and methods: The study was performed in 200 patients (133 women and 67 men) with an average age of 51.49 (13.63) years and a history of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia or diabetes, but without prior cardiovascular events. Pharmacological treatment was applied in 127 patients (63.5%) with hypertension, 90 (45%) with hypercholesterolemia, and 31 (15.5%) with diabetes. Results: According to the MAQ, high adherence to medication (100% or 90%) was declared by 67.7% of patients, while medium (75% or 50%) and low adherence (< 50% or 0%) by 9.7% and 22.6%, respectively. The adherence assessed with the ACDS, was high in 38.7%, medium in 44.8%, and low in 16.5% of patients. A remarkable inconsistency between ACDS and MAQ responses was found. The MAQ and the ACDS rendered consistent results in 44.8% of patients (111 out of 148), while in the remaining 55.2% (137 out of 248) of patients the results were discordant. Conclusions: The assessment of medication adherence based on patient declarations used in the EUROASPIRE V registry is likely to overestimate the frequency of high adherence.