Somatic complaints and refrain from buying prescribed medications. Results from a cross-sectional study on people 60 years and older living in Kaunas (Lithuania)

Abstract

BackgroundThe use of medicines by elderly people is a growing area of concern in social pharmacy. A significant proportion of older people do not follow the recommendations from physicians and refrain from buying prescribed medications. The aim of this study is to evaluate associations between self-rated health, somatic complaints and refraining from buying prescribed medications by elderly people.FindingsData was collected in a cross-sectional study in 2009. We received 624 completed questionnaires (response rate – 48.9%) from persons aged 60–84 years living in Kaunas (Lithuania). Somatic complaints were measured with the 24 item version of the Giessen Complaint List (GBB-24). Logistic regression (Enter model) was used for evaluation of the associations between refraining from buying medications and somatic complaints. These associations were measured using odds ratio (OR) and calculating the 95% confidence interval (CI).The mean scores in total for the GBB scale and sub-scales (exhaustion, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular) were lowest among respondents who did not refrain from buying prescribed medications (means for GBB-24 scale: 21.04 vs. 24.82; p=0.001). Logistic regression suggests that somatic complaints were associated with a increased risk of refraining from buying prescribed medications (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.15-1.60).ConclusionsSomatic complaints were significantly associated with the decision to refrain from buying prescribed medications.

Determinants of Primary Nonadherence to Medications Prescribed by General Practitioners Among Adults in Hungary: Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Health Insurance Data

“…Nonadherence is a global issue (Cramer, 2004; Stankuniene et al, 2012; Kleinsinger, 2018). A meta-analysis of 20 studies conducted between 1998 and 2010 in Australia, Canada, the USA, and Europe to assess the extent of adherence of cardiovascular patients to their regimens indicated that approximately 50% were not properly adherent to cardiovascular medications prescribed for preventive purposes (Naderi et al, 2012).…”

The prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to cost for the elderly: results from seven European urban communities

“…Basic characteristics of the healthcare system and pharmaceutical schemes in each country are presented in Table 1 [ 10 – 18 ]. Some papers on use and non-adherence have been published elsewhere [ 19 – 22 ]. However, the referred papers have examined the prevalence of refrain due to any cause [ 19 ], or focused on the situation in Lithuania [ 20 – 22 ].…”

“…Some papers on use and non-adherence have been published elsewhere [ 19 – 22 ]. However, the referred papers have examined the prevalence of refrain due to any cause [ 19 ], or focused on the situation in Lithuania [ 20 – 22 ]. In this paper, we investigate the prevalence of refrain due to financial problems among older persons and to compare it among seven European urban communities.…”