Do depressed patients comply with treatments prescribed? A crosssectional study of adherence to the antidepressant treatment

Abstract

Introduction. Compliance with antidepressant treatment is a very relevant factor in the outcome of depressive disorders. Poor compliance has been associated with worse outcome, increased rate of relapses and greater cost. This study has aimed to describe adherence to antidepressant treatment in a sample of primary care patients with a diagnosis of depression in 2007. 

Methods. Randomized sampling was made of patients with depression and antidepressant treatment attended in two primary care teams. Their medical records were reviewed to obtain the total number of prescriptions given to patients and the total number of prescriptions dispensed in the pharmacies. The difference between prescriptions written and collected was calculated. A difference of ± 2 was considered as good compliance. Results are shown as percentages. Comparisons were made with the chi-square, Student’s T and ANOVA tests, where appropriate. 

Results. The simple was made up of 212 patients. Mean age was 63.2 years (SD 15.27). In the sample, 66.5% were treated with only one antidepressant and 24.1% with two. The percentage of non-compliance was 33.96% (95% CI: 25.35–40.57). Treatment-adherent patients have a lower percentage of long-term treatment with other drugs. The percentage of treatment-adherent women was higher than non-adherent (p=0.015). No differences were found in compliance among patients treated in the mental health center. 

Conclusions. One third of patients on antidepressant drug treatment were non-compliers because the drugs were not picked up properly from the pharmacies. We need to develop strategies to improve the therapeutic adherence of patients.