OBJECTIVES

Diabetes, headache disorders, and depressive disorders are among the top ten health problems that cause the most disability in Japan. Among adults in Japan, 7.7% had type 2 diabetes (T2D), 6.0% had migraine, and 6.1% had depression. Medication adherence is a crucial factor in ensuring optimal clinical outcomes for these conditions. This study aimed to determine the extent and the reasons for non-adherence with medicines used to treat T2D, migraine, and depression in Japan.

METHODS

: Data from the 2019 National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), a self-administered, annual, internet-based cross-sectional study of Japanese adults was used. Non-adherence was measured using the Medication Adherence Reasons Scale (MAR-Scale). NHWS participants who self-reported taking daily prescription medication(s) to treat T2D, migraine and/or depression responded to the 19 reasons for non-adherence and one global item in the scale. MAR-Scale measures non-adherence “in the past 7 days”, on an 8-point scale ranging from 0 days-7 days. Frequencies and means were used to identify the reasons for non-adherence.

RESULTS

: In the NHWS, 889 respondents reported using daily prescription medication(s) for T2D; 156 for migraine; and 790 for depression. Based on the 19 reasons for non-adherence, 26.55% of respondents reported non-adherence to at least one reason in diabetes; 60.90% in migraine; and 48.35% in depression. The most common reasons for non-adherence across all three diseases were concern about long term effects, concern about possible side effects and simply missing the medicine. The reason for missing the medicine for more days in the past week was side effects for T2D (3.89 days); lack of belief in the necessity of medicine for migraine (4.33 days); and difficulty opening the container for depression (3.86 days).

CONCLUSIONS : Determining the extent and reasons for non-adherence will allow health-care providers to target interventions to help patients develop positive beliefs about medications.