Lower Medication Adherence Found in Patients with Glaucoma After Cancer Diagnosis
In patients with glaucoma, a cancer diagnosis can lead to lower medication adherence, according to an article published in American Journal of Ophthalmology.
In this population-based, cohort study, patients with glaucoma in one or both eyes were followed until they received a cancer diagnosis and compared to a group of patients with glaucoma who did not develop cancer.
Medication possession ratio (MPR) measured at 1-year intervals was 0.379 (95% CI: 0.370-0.388) in the group with cancer and 0.313 (95% CI: 0.308-0.319) in the group without cancer. There was a 17.4% decrease in MPR after cancer diagnosis using 1-year intervals, and a 10.4% decrease using 2-year intervals.
The authors concluded that, “To improve medication adherence in patients with glaucoma who also have cancer, policies should directly target the burden associated with having cancer that tends to create barriers for medication refills, rather than targeting risk factors that are also applicable to patients with glaucoma but without cancer.”
Reference
Hou CH, Lin KK, Lee JS, Pu C. Medication adherence in patients with glaucoma after cancer diagnosis. Am J Ophthalmol. 2020 May;213:88-96. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2020.01.004.
