Adherence to disease-modifying therapies and attitudes regarding disease in patients with multiple sclerosis

Although currently there is no cure for MS the course of the disease can be influenced by disease modifying therapy (DMT). For therapy to be sufficiently efficient, it is crucial that patients take their medication regularly as prescribed. Adherence describes the extent to which a patient acts in accordance with the prescribed timing, dosing, and frequency of medication administration. To date, there are no known data about adherence rates among patients with MS in Slovenia. We wanted to assess adherence in patients with MS, who are treated with first line DMTs and discover reasons for non-adherence. A number of 451 patients were invited to participate. They received two questionnaires via post mail. The adherence rate and putative reasons for non-adherence were assessed by the use of standardized self-report Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Experience Questionnaire (MSTEQ). Patients' attitudes regarding disease, therapy and relationship with their physician were assessed by another questionnaire. The analysis of results included 299 patients. Among the patients 18.5% missed at least one medication dose in the past 28 days. Patients taking Avonex were significantly more adherent then patients on other DMTs (p=0.005). Our study showed a higher then expected adherence among Slovenian patients with MS (81.5%). Our research did not confirm the influence of side effects or patients' attitudes regarding illness and therapy on adherence. However we found unexpectedly high percentage (71.8%) of patients belief that psychological factors are involved in MS aetiology.