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Medication Adherence in Healthy Elders: Small Cognitive Changes Make a Big Difference
Tamara L. Hayes, PhD*,
Nicole Larimer, BA,
Andre Adami, PhD,
and
Jeffrey A. Kaye, MD
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hayesta{at}ohsu.edu.
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Abstract |
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Objective: This was a cross-sectional study of the ability of independently living healthy elders to follow a medication regimen. Participants were divided into a group with High Cognitive Function (HCF) or Low Cognitive Function (LCF) based on their scores on the ADAS-Cog. Method: Thirty-eight participants aged 65 or older and living independently in the community followed a twice-daily vitamin C regimen for 5 weeks. Adherence was measured using an electronic 7-day pillbox. Results: The LCF group had significantly poorer total adherence than the HCF group (LCF: 63.9 ± 11.2%, HCF: 86.8 ± 4.3%, t<Sub>36 </Sub>= 2.57, p = .007), and there was a 4.1 relative risk of non-adherence in the LCF group as compared to the HCF group. Discussion: This study has important implications for the conduct of clinical drug trials, as it provides strong evidence that even very mild cognitive impairment in healthy elderly has a detrimental impact on medication adherence.
First published on April 1, 2009, doi:10.1177/0898264309332836
Journal of Aging and Health 2009;21:567.
A more recent version of this article appeared on June 1, 2009

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