Summary Objectives:  To review studies of patient compliance/persistence with cardiovascular or antidiabetic medication published since the year 2000; to compare the methods used to measure compliance/persistence across studies; to compare reported compliance/persistence rates across therapeutic classes and to assess whether compliance/persistence correlates with clinical outcomes. Methods:  English language papers published between January 2000 and November 2005 investigating patient compliance/persistence with cardiovascular or antidiabetic medication were identified through searches of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Definitions and measurements of compliance/persistence were compared across therapeutic areas using contingency tables. Results:  Of the 139 studies analysed, 32% focused on hypertension, 27% on diabetes and 13% on dyslipidaemia. The remainder covered coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in general. The most frequently reported measure of compliance was the 12‐month medication possession ratio (MPR). The overall mean MPR was 72%, and the MPR did not differ significantly between treatment classes (range: 67–76%). The average proportion of patients with an MPR of > 80% was 59% overall, 64% for antihypertensives, 58% for oral antidiabetics, 51% for lipid‐lowering agents and 69% in studies of multiple treatments, again with no significant difference between treatment classes. The average 12‐month persistence rate was 63% and was similar across therapeutic classes. Good compliance had a positive effect on outcome in 73% of the studies examining clinical outcomes. Conclusions:  Non‐compliance with cardiovascular and antidiabetic medication is a significant problem, with around 30% of days ‘on therapy’ not covered by medication and only 59% of patients taking medication for more than 80% of their days ‘on therapy’ in a year. Good compliance has a positive effect on clinical outcome, suggesting that the management of CVD may be improved by improving patient compliance.

Despite variation in the terminology and prevalence thresholds used to define rare diseases among different jurisdictions and organizations, the terms "rare disease" and "orphan drug" are used most widely and the average prevalence threshold is between 40 and 50 cases/100,000 people. These findings highlight the existing diversity among definitions of rare diseases, but suggest that any attempts to harmonize rare disease definitions should focus on standardizing objective criteria such as prevalence thresholds and avoid qualitative descriptors.

Objectives-To: evaluate the impact of smoking status on objective productivity and absenteeism measures; evaluate the impact of smoking status on subjective measures of productivity; and assess the correlation between subjective and objective productivity measures. Design-Prospective cohort study in a workplace environment. Subjects-Approximately 300 employees (100 each of former, current, and never smokers) at a reservation oYce of a large US airline. Main outcome measures-Objective productivity and absenteeism data were supplied by the employer. Subjective assessments of productivity were collected using a self report instrument, the Health and Work Questionnaire (HWQ). Results-Current smokers had significantly greater absenteeism than did never smokers, with former smokers having intermediate values; among former smokers, absenteeism showed a significant decline with years following cessation. Former smokers showed an increase in seven of 10 objective productivity measures as compared to current smokers, with a mean increase of 4.5%. While objective productivity measures for former smokers decreased compared to measures for current smokers during the first year following cessation, values for former smokers were greater than those for current smokers by 1-4 years following cessation. Subjective assessments of "productivity evaluation by others" and "personal life satisfaction" showed significant trends with highest values for never smokers, lowest for current smokers, and intermediate for former smokers. Conclusions-Workplace productivity is increased and absenteeism is decreased among former smokers as compared to current smokers. Productivity among former smokers increases over time toward values seen among never smokers. Subjective measures of productivity provide indications of novel ways of productivity assessment that are sensitive to smoking status.

No abstract