Medication Beliefs, Adherence, and LDL-C Level among Statin Users at Al-Rahma clinic in Nablus City

Objective: To assess beliefs about statin medications and its association with statin adherence. Methods: a cross- sectional study was carried out on One hundred and ninety six statin users attending a non-governmental charitable clinic in Nablus, Palestine. The study was carried out from February to June 2012, using a self-reported questionnaire that consists of Morisky Medication Adherence scale (MMAS-8©), Beliefs about medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), and potential demographic and clinical factors that might affect adherence to statins. LDL-C level was also measured for all the participants. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done to find factors associated with non-adherence. xiii Results: The mean age of the studied sample was 58±8.1 years. On Morisky scale, 55.1% participants were non-adherence. Participants ≥ 65 years and those with longer duration of statin use had lesser odds [0.45 (0.23 – 0.9], [0.46 (0.3-0.8] with confidence interval (CL) 95% of being non-adherent than participant ˂ 65 year and those with lower duration of statin use respectively. Participants who did not have a history of invasive heart procedure OR [2(1.1-3.0] with CL 95%and those with stronger concerns about statin medications OR [2(1.1-3.0] with CL 95% had higher odds of being non-adherent. Multivariate analysis showed that stronger concerns about statins was associated with higher odds [1.094 (1.09 – 1.18)] with CL 95% of non-adherence. Conclusions: In our study, non-adherent is common among statin users. Patient’s concerns about potential harm of statin were the most significant factor associated with non-adherence. Future interventions for improving adherence to statin therapy should rely heavily on patients’ education concerning potential benefits or harms from statin therapy.