Patient Preference and Adherence (Apr 2022)

Exploring Factors Influencing Medication Compliance in Saudi Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey – Results from the COPARA Study

  • Omair MA,
  • Alshehri MM,
  • Altokhais NA,
  • Aljanobi GA,
  • El Dessougi MI,
  • AlHarthi A,
  • Omair MA,
  • Attar SM,
  • Bahlas SM,
  • Alfurayj AS,
  • Alazmi MS,
  • Asiri AM,
  • AlOmair MM,
  • Al Juffali L,
  • Almalag HM

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 1105 – 1114

Abstract

Read online

Mohammed A Omair,1 Maha M Alshehri,2 Nouf A Altokhais,2 Ghada A Aljanobi,3 Maha I El Dessougi,4 Amal AlHarthi,4 Maha A Omair,5 Suzan M Attar,6 Sami M Bahlas,6 Abdullah S Alfurayj,7 Mansour S Alazmi,8 Alhussain M Asiri,9 Mohammed M AlOmair,9 Lobna Al Juffali,10 Haya M Almalag10 1Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Qatif Central Hospital, Qatif, Saudi Arabia; 4Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Statistics and Operations Research, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 6Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 7Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Buraidah Central Hospital, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia; 8Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Prince Mohammed Medical City, Sakaka-Aljouf, Saudi Arabia; 9Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia; 10Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Mohammed A Omair, Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966505270513, Email [email protected]: Compliance is essential to achieve treatment goals in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The current study evaluated compliance and related factors in a large and diverse population.Patients and Methods: Patients with RA who received active treatment were invited to participate in an online survey. The Arabic versions of the 5-Item Compliance Questionnaire for Rheumatology (ACQR-5) and the RA Impact of Disease (RAID) were used to measure compliance and disability, respectively. The patients were sub-grouped based on background disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Variables associated with high compliance were selected for the logistic regression analysis.Results: A total of 1241 patients completed the survey and were included in the final analysis. Of those, 1055 (85%) were females with a mean (±SD) age and disease duration of 47.14 ± 13.71 and 8.77 ± 7.43 years, respectively. The mean RAID was 4.4± 2.58, with 980 (79%) having an unacceptable level state. Patients with an unacceptable RAID level had a lower compliance rate (78.8% vs 85.8%, p = 0.001). Demographics associated with high compliance were female sex and increased age, with reported odds ratios of 1.018 (95% CI: 1.007– 1.028) and 1.464 (95% CI: 1.016– 2.108), respectively. Compliance was similar between patients on Janus kinase inhibitors or biological DMARDs (88.14% vs 80.83%, p = 0.17), between monotherapy, double therapy, or triple therapy recipients (80% vs 82.23% vs 81.32%, p = 0.665), and between patients receiving injectable and oral therapy (77.32% vs 81.14%, p = 0.246).Conclusion: A high compliance level was observed in this population, with patient demographics influencing compliance rather than the medication type or route of administration. Interventional studies should focus on the of high-risk patients identified in this study.Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, compliance, Saudi Arabia

Keywords