Medication Adherence Better in Patients with Advanced Glaucoma

Patients with severe glaucoma tend to adhere to intraocular pressure-lowering medications, whereas those with mild to moderate forms of the disease are less likely to comply with their medications, according to a study published in the June 2013 issue of Ophthalmology.

Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California recruited 126 patients diagnosed with glaucoma who were prescribed intraocular pressure—lowering medication, and obtained pharmacy refill data and calculated the medication possession ratio for each participant. The authors measured adherence retrospectively during an 18-month period preceding the study and considered a medication possession ratio of greater than 80% to be adherent.

Although researchers conducted interviews to establish patients’ age, gender, race, education level, and medical history, those factors were not associated with medication adherence in a statistically significant way.