Medication adherence to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs among patients with rheumatoid arthritis at Assiut University Hospital, Egypt

Background Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disabling autoimmune disease with predilection to synovial joints and many extraarticular manifestations. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs are the cornerstone and initial therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. Although medication adherence is crucial for successful therapy, non-adherence is a substantial problem in some. This study aimed to determine the adherence rate of treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in an Egyptian university hospital. In this study, seventy-three adult rheumatoid arthritis patients who are on disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs treatment for at least 6 months were included in this study. After full history and clinical examination, assessment of the adherence rate to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs was done using the Clinician Rating Scale. Measuring the quality of life using the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index and screening for depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were done. The socio-economic level of the patients was assessed by socio-economic status scale. Results In the current study, 65.1% of the patients were highly adherent to their disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) medications, while 26% showed middle level of adherence. There was a significant difference between medication adherence and anxiety, but not with other demographic data, clinical data, disease activity, or socio-economic level. Conclusion In this study, no significant difference was found between medication adherence and demographic, clinical, or socio-economic data. However, anxiety was significantly related to DMARD adherence in the studied group. Age and HAQ-DI were found to be strong predictors to medication adherence in our RA patients. Further studies should be conducted on a large number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis to become generalizable to a broader population.