Antihypertensive adherence and outcomes among community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES: Despite proven benefits for reducing incidence of major cardiac events, antihypertensive drug therapy remains underutilized in the United States. This analysis assesses antihypertensive drug adherence, utilization predictors, and associations between adherence and outcomes (a composite of cardiovascular events, Medicare inpatient payments, and inpatient days). METHODS: The sample consisted of Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study cohort participants reporting hypertension without prevalent cardiovascular disease during 2006 to 2007 annual follow-up calls. Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities records were linked to Medicare claims through 2012. Antihypertensive medication adherence was measured as more than 80% proportion days covered by using Medicare Part D claims. Standard and hierarchical regression models were used to evaluate adjusted associations between person characteristics and adherence and between adherence and outcomes. RESULTS: Among 1826 hypertensive participants with Part D coverage, 31.5% had no antihypertensive class with more than 80% proportion days covered in the 3 months preceding the report of hypertension in 2006 to 2007. After adjustment for confounders, positive predictors of use included female gender and diabetes; negative predictors were African-American race and current smoking. Adjusted association between receiving no therapy and a composite endpoint of cardiovascular outcomes through 2012 was not statistically significant (hazard ratio: 0.93; 95% confidence interval: 0.72, 1.22) nor was the adjusted association with Medicare inpatient days or payments (incremental difference at 48 months in payments: $1217; 95% CI: -$2030, $4463). CONCLUSIONS: Despite having medical and prescription coverage, nearly a third of hypertensive participants were not adherent to antihypertensive drug therapy. Differences in clinical outcomes associated with nonadherence, though not statistically significant, were consistent with results from randomized trials. The approach provides a model framework for rigorous assessment of detailed data that are increasingly available through emerging sources.

Symptom burden and life challenges reported by adult chordoma patients and their caregivers.

PURPOSE: This study aims to characterize the symptom burden and life challenges that chordoma patients and their caregivers experience. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from the Chordoma Foundation online community survey conducted in 2014. Frequency counts and percentages were calculated to determine the prevalence of self-reported symptoms and life challenges in the sample. We used Fisher's exact test to compare self-reported symptoms among subgroups with different disease status, tumor locations, and treatments received. RESULTS: Among the survey participants, 358 identified themselves as chordoma patients and 208 as caregivers. The majority of the patients were over 45 years (72%), male (56%), educated beyond high school degree (87%), and from North America (77%). Skull base was the most prevalent tumor location (40%). Chronic pain (38%) was the most commonly reported symptom followed by depression or severe anxiety (35%), and chronic fatigue (34%). Among patients, the most commonly-reported challenges included delayed diagnosis (37%), long-term disability (33%), and change in career or reduced ability to work (33%). For caregivers, grief (55%), delayed diagnosis (47%), and difficulty helping the patient cope with his or her disease (45%) were most common. CONCLUSIONS: Our study findings suggest a high symptom burden and life challenges among chordoma patients and their caregivers. This study provides preliminary, limited estimates of the prevalence of a wide range of self-reported symptoms and challenges that will inform the assessment of patient-reported outcomes in future clinical trials and help clinicians better manage chordoma patients' symptoms.

Psychometric Properties of the Four-Item Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale among Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study Participants.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the reliability and factorial validity of the four-item Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale (MGLS) among Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study participants. METHODS: We used the cross-sectional visit 5 data from the ARIC Study to assess the measurement properties of the MGLS. We measured the internal consistency using Cronbach α (where α > 0.70 is considered reliable for group-level measurement), the response frequency, and the inter item correlation. Factor analysis of the MGLS and five other adherence items in the survey was conducted using a polychoric correlation matrix to examine the dimensionality that underlies the MGLS. A vanishing tetrad test was conducted to assess conformity with an effect indicator model. RESULTS: Among the ARIC visit 5 participants, 6,261 (96%) responded to the MGLS and other questions related to medication adherence in the survey (mean age 76 ± 5 years, 59% women). The Cronbach α for the MGLS was 0.47. The inter-item correlations ranged from 0.11 to 0.26. In the factor analysis of the medication adherence survey questions, a three-factor solution was used. One factor captured the extent of nonadherence, whereas other factors focused on the reasons for nonadherence. The MGLS items spread out across the factors that reflect the extent of as well as the reasons for nonadherence. The results of the vanishing tetrad test indicated that the MGLS consists of items other than effect indicators (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The low reliability together with the factor analysis findings imply that the MGLS may reflect causes as well as the extent of medication adherence. The findings suggest that the MGLS, as presently used, lacks consistency in an elderly population.