Original Article

Factors Associated with Non-Adherence to Glaucoma Treatment in a Korean Nationwide Survey

Abstract

Background: Glaucoma is a main cause of blindness despite the effectiveness of treatments, and adherence to treatment is a critical aspect of glaucoma management. We aimed to identify the factors associated with non-adherence to treatment among Korean glaucoma patients.

Methods: Data were collected from 4,833 glaucoma patients during the Korea Community Health Survey (KCHS) in 2008 and 2011 regarding current treatment for glaucoma, demographics, comorbidities, perceived health status, and health-related behaviors were subjected to analysis. A multivariable regression model was applied to identify factors related to non-treatment for glaucoma.

Results: Approximately, half of the 4,883 patients failed to adhere to treatment. Compared to the treatment group, the non-treatment group had lower social status, fewer comorbid conditions, were more optimistic about their health statuses, and more likely to adopt unhealthy behaviors. Stepwise regression analysis showed that poor social status (low level of education and unmarried), self-perception of a satisfactory health status, and unhealthy behaviors (smoking and no flu-vaccination) were significantly associated with non-adherent to treatment.

Conclusion: More attention should be paid to glaucoma patients with low social status or that are overconfident about their health. Future prospective studies that more comprehensively assess treatment compliance, are needed to confirm our findings.

 

1. Farvardin M, Heidary F, Sayehmiri K, et al (2017). A Comprehensive Meta-analysis on Intra Ocular Pressure and Central Corneal Thickness in Healthy Children. Iran J Public Health, 46:724-732.
2. Rossi GC, Pasinetti GM, Scudeller L, Radaelli R, Bianchi PE (2011). Do adherence rates and glaucomatous visual field progression correlate? Eur J Ophthalmol, 21:410-4.
3. Sleath B, Blalock S, Covert D, Stone JL, Skinner AC, Muir K, Robin AL (2011). The relationship between glaucoma medication adherence, eye drop technique, and visual field defect severity. Ophthalmology, 118:2398-402.
4. Wolfram C, Stahlberg E, Pfeiffer N (2019). Patient-Reported Nonadherence with Glaucoma Therapy. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther, 35:223-228.
5. Tse AP, Shah M, Jamal N, Shaikh A (2016). Glaucoma treatment adherence at a United Kingdom general practice. Eye (Lond), 30:1118-22.
6. Newman-Casey PA, Robin AL, Blachley T, Farris K, Heisler M, Resnicow K, Lee PP (2015). The Most Common Barriers to Glaucoma Medication Adherence: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Ophthalmology, 122:1308-16.
7. Pappa C, Hyphantis T, Pappa S, Aspiotis M, Stefaniotou M, Kitsos G, Psilas K, Mavreas V (2006). Psychiatric manifestations and personality traits associated with compliance with glaucoma treatment. J Psychosom Res, 61:609-17.
8. Newman-Casey PA, Shtein RM, Coleman AL, Herndon L, Lee PP (2016). Why Patients With Glaucoma Lose Vision: The Patient Perspective. J Glaucoma, 25:e668-75.
9. Dreer LE, Girkin C, Mansberger SL (2012). Determinants of medication adherence to topical glaucoma therapy. J Glaucoma, 21:234-40.
10. Kang YW, Ko YS, Kim YJ, et al (2015). Korea Community Health Survey Data Profiles. Osong Public Health Res Perspect, 6:211-7.
11. Shim MS, Kim Y, Park M, Kim GS (2021). Factors influencing the perceived health status of older adults living alone based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018). Arch Gerontol Geriatr, 96:104433.
12. Kim HJ, Paik HY, Lee SY, Shim JE, Kim YS (2007). Salt usage behaviors are related to urinary sodium excretion in normotensive Korean adults. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 16:122-8.
13. Budenz DL (2009). A clinician's guide to the assessment and management of nonadherence in glaucoma. Ophthalmology, 116:S43-7.
14. Toteberg-Harms M, Berlin MS, Meier-Gibbons F (2017). Increasing healthcare costs: can we influence the costs of glaucoma care? Curr Opin Ophthalmol, 28:127-132.
15. Gwira JA, Vistamehr S, Shelsta H, et al (2006). Factors associated with failure to follow up after glaucoma screening: a study in an African American population. Ophthalmology, 113:1315-9.
16. Picker L The Effects of Education on Health, National Bureau of Economic Research. [Available from: https://www.nber.org/digest/mar07/w12352.html. Accessed 19 Jan 2021.
17. Celebi ARC (2018). Knowledge and Awareness of Glaucoma in Subjects with Glaucoma and their Normal First-Degree Relatives. Med Hypothesis Discov Innov Ophthalmol, 7:40-47.
18. Salman M, Andrews C, Heisler M, Darnley-Fisch D, Newman-Casey PA (2020). Psychosocial Predictors of Glaucoma Medication Adherence Among the Support, Educate, Empower (SEE) Personalized Glaucoma Coaching Pilot Study Participants. Am J Ophthalmol, 216:207-218.
19. Lim MC, Watnik MR, Imson KR, Porter SM, Granier AM (2013). Adherence to glaucoma medication: the effect of interventions and association with personality type. J Glaucoma, 22:439-46.
20. Lunnela J, Kaariainen M, Kyngas H (2011). Adherence of Finnish people with glaucoma to treatment plans and connected factors. Int J Circumpolar Health, 70:79-89.
21. Mansouri K, Iliev ME, Rohrer K, Shaarawy T (2011). Compliance and knowledge about glaucoma in patients at tertiary glaucoma units. Int Ophthalmol, 31:369-76.
22. Stryker JE, Beck AD, Primo SA, Echt KV, Bundy L, Pretorius GC, Glanz K (2010). An exploratory study of factors influencing glaucoma treatment adherence. J Glaucoma, 19:66-72.
23. Park MH, Kang KD, Moon J, Korean Glaucoma Compliance Study G (2013). Noncompliance with glaucoma medication in Korean patients: a multicenter qualitative study. Jpn J Ophthalmol, 57:47-56.
24. Hoevenaars JG, Schouten JS, van den Borne B, Beckers HJ, Webers CA (2008). Will improvement of knowledge lead to improvement of compliance with glaucoma medication? Acta Ophthalmol, 86:849-55.
25. Sleath B, Blalock SJ, Carpenter DM, et al (2015). Ophthalmologist-patient communication, self-efficacy, and glaucoma medication adherence. Ophthalmology, 122:748-54.
26. Cook PF, Bremer RW, Ayala AJ, Kahook MY (2010). Feasibility of motivational interviewing delivered by a glaucoma educator to improve medication adherence. Clin Ophthalmol, 4:1091-101.
27. Cate H, Bhattacharya D, Clark A, Holland R, Broadway DC (2015). A comparison of measures used to describe adherence to glaucoma medication in a randomised controlled trial. Clin Trials, 12:608-17.
28. Rees G, Chong XL, Cheung CY, Aung T, Friedman DS, Crowston JG, Lamoureux EL (2014). Beliefs and adherence to glaucoma treatment: a comparison of patients from diverse cultures. J Glaucoma, 23:293-8.
Files
IssueVol 51 No 6 (2022) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v51i6.9669
Keywords
Glaucoma Health Behaviors Treatment Adherence Socioeconomic status
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Hwang IC, Suh HS, Choi S. Factors Associated with Non-Adherence to Glaucoma Treatment in a Korean Nationwide Survey. Iran J Public Health. 2022;51(6):1259-1264.