Association between depression and medication adherence in stroke survivor older adults

Abstract

Aim This study aimed to investigate the association between depression score and medication adherence in stroke survivor older adults. Methods The participants were 102 stroke survivor older adults. The outcome was medication adherence during a 6‐month follow‐up. The independent variable was the depression score which was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9). The confounding factors included sociodemographic data, clinical characteristics, number of comorbidities, and number of medications. We analyzed the association between depression and medication adherence using multiple linear regression analyses. Results The PHQ‐9 score of stroke survivor older adults at the baseline was 1.11±2.03, and at the 6‐month follow‐up was increased to 5.06±3.91. The medication adherence mean score at the outcome was 4.15±1.83. After full adjustment, the PHQ‐9 scores at baseline and 6‐month follow‐up were significantly associated with medication adherence (β = −.315, 95% CI = −.483 to −.086, p = 0.006 and β = −.270, 95% CI = −.238 to −.020, p = 0.021, respectively). Other variables that affect medication adherence during a 6‐month follow‐up included living with others and a lower number of medications. Conclusion This study revealed that lower depression scores were associated with high medication adherence in post‐stroke older adults. Additionally, living with others and a lower number of medications were associated with medication adherence. Therefore, stroke survivor older adults should be assessed for depression and given medication, and education should be used to improve mediation adherence, especially for the ones who live alone and have polypharmacy to prevent recurrent stroke.

The Effect of Diagonal Exercise Training for Neurorehabilitation on Functional Activity in Stroke Patients: A Pilot Study

“…Stroke treatment can be broadly divided into medication therapy and rehabilitation therapy. Medication therapy involves the use of drugs such as thrombolytics, anticoagulants, and antihypertensives to improve cerebral blood flow and promote circulation [13,14]. Rehabilitation therapy focuses on improving physical and cognitive function following stroke and is crucial for enhancing functional recovery and performing activities of daily living.…”

Social Support and Depression among Stroke Patients: A Topical Review

“…For example, bladder dysfunction leads to urine incontinence, which is highly associated with an increased risk of depression [20,21]. Even more concerning, depression has been found associated with decreased adherence to medication treatment for stroke, leading to increased risks of stroke recurrence and mortality [22][23][24].…”

“…This, among other factors, including concerns of being recommended antidepressants and being referred to a psychiatrist, often hinders early diagnosis and treatment of depression [27][28][29][30][31]. The underreporting is a particularly serious problem among stroke survivors, whose depression is often co-morbid with physical ailments and associated with the recurrence and mortality [22][23][24]. The underdiagnosis also indicates that depression is in fact more prevalent among the populations than indicated by the observed numbers, including among stroke patients [32].…”