Factors Associated with Adherence to Oral Kahler's Disease Therapy

Shortfall of adherence to cancer treatment comprising oral therapies can contribute to poor treatment findings, and researchers carried out a study to probe factors that may be associated with lack of adherence to oral agents. 

Wilbur Rutter, Ph.D., PharmD, of CVS Health in Lincoln, Rhode Island, and colleagues presented the study’s outcomes in a poster at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting 2022.

In this carried out study, Dr. Rutter and colleagues did a retrospective review of records from patients with newly diagnosed Kahler's Disease also named multiple myeloma (MM) who were being treated with the help of oral agents during the time span of 01/09/2016, through 01/09/2020. 

Adherence to therapy was the finding of interest, which was elaborated as having an annual medicine possession ratio of 0.8-1.2. A socioeconomic status (SES) composite index (created by researchers), was developed from data acquired at the zip-code level.

Researchers did a multivariable regression investigation of adherence with factors including the socioeconomic status-index and demographic deets.

On behalf of the socioeconomic status index, patients were grouped as Very Low, Low, Medium, High, and Very High groups. It reflected rising levels of zip code-based median household income as socioeconomic status-index values rose from very low to very high. It also aligned with US CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) scores, reflecting greater vulnerability with minor socioeconomic status.

Carried out study included a total of 6602 patients, 64.5 percent of whom were adherent. Adherent patients were compared with non-adherent patients. 

The multivariable evaluation suggested several evaluated factors demonstrated significant, independent link-ups with adherence. Regarding adherence based on socioeconomic status-index scores, the researchers considered patients with a very low socioeconomic status index to show a significantly lower rate of adherence than seen in patients having a very high socioeconomic status index.

The increasing age was related to greater adherence, although polypharmacy was related to less adherence.

Compared with lacking polypharmacy, patients with mild polypharmacy were less likely to be adherent. Moderate polypharmacy was also related to nonadherence, as was significantly polypharmacy.

Conclusion: Researchers concluded there were not any specific relationships with adherence across maximum socioeconomic status indexes, but that patients in Very Low socioeconomic status zip codes demonstrated less adherence than patients in Very High socioeconomic status zip codes did. Polypharmacy and younger age were other factors researchers considered linked to worse adherence.